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MILAN, Italy — Slowear has sold a minority stake to Nuo Capital, the investment firm founded by Stephen Cheng, marking the first time the nearly 70-year-old Venetian fashion group has taken outside investment.
For Slowear, which owns four smart casual specialist labels, including Incotex (trousers), Zanone (knitwear), Glanshirt (shirts) and Montedoro (jackets), the minority acquisition marks the brand’s first outside investment since it was founded by the Compagno family in 1951. The group currently employs over 450 employees, and has offices in Venice, Milan, New York and Tokyo.
“Slowear is our very first investment in the fashion industry,” said Tommaso Paoli, chief executive of Nuo Capital. “Since we do long-term investments, we see this more like a strategic alliance rather than a mere investment. We strongly believe in the potential of Slowear’s ability to succeed and we’re willing to support its growth process.”
Slowear is looking to expand the reach of its e-commerce platform, while making the experience between offline and online more seamless, as well as expand its retail network by doubling the number of Slowear’s monobrand stores — from 15 to 30 in the next five years, said chief executive Roberto Compagno. Slowear also sells its brands’ products via wholesale partners including Mr. Porter, Matches Fashion and Farfetch.
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Slowear, which already has a presence in key cities such as New York, London and Paris, is also eyeing Asia. “We feel Nuo is the right kind of partner to face this challenge with, with the right approach,” said Compagno, referring to Nuo’s broad network and expertise in the Asian market and experience working with family-run businesses.
If all is successful, Compagno projects Slowear’s annual turnover will reach upwards of €100 million ($116 million) by 2023 — double from what it is today.
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