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Roberto Cavalli’s CEO is stepping down as the brand’s Dubai-based owner begins the search for a strategic partner to help complete a long-running turnaround at the loss-making label, sources said.
The Italian fashion house was acquired out of bankruptcy in 2019 by property tycoon Hussain Sajwani’s conglomerate Damac Group. The move was billed as a significant strategic step, building on an existing partnership that saw the brand lend its name to interiors for some of Sajwani’s luxury resorts, hotels and malls.
But efforts to revive the struggling label have proved challenging despite a buzzy revamp led by creative director Fausto Puglisi. The designer was brought on in 2020, winning fans including popstar Taylor Swift. Former DSquared CEO Sergio Azzolari took the reins in 2023. At the time, the company said it was enjoying double-digit growth. But while sales have increased since 2019 — helped by deep-pocketed support from Damac — the brand remains loss making.
Now Damac is looking to bring on a strategic partner with more experience running a fashion label to deliver on the brand’s years-long turnaround efforts and get some return on an investment that has exceeded €200 million ($234 million) over the years, according to a person familiar with the matter. Potential buyers range from industry players to investment groups and include the UK’s Frasers Group, Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing, Qatari fund Mayhoola for Investments and brand management company Authentic Brands Group, the person added.
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Roberto Cavalli confirmed the brand is “exploring strategic partnerships,” but declined to comment further. Damac did not respond to a request for comment.
The Florence-based label was founded by late designer Roberto Cavalli in the early 1970s and is known for its animal prints and flamboyant aesthetic. Revenue hit €120 million in 2023, but a depressed luxury market has hampered further growth. Nonetheless, the brand has buzz behind it, including a recent collaboration with Skims. Azzolari is set to step down in August, according to an internal memo reviewed by BoF.
“We’ve been through a very intense period of time where we reinforced our structure, reactivated a dialogue with the market and the world of design and brought Cavalli back to the centre of the conversation,” the executive wrote in the note. “It is normal that new times require new leaders.”
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The Italian house has suffered a tumultuous few years. Can new creative and business leadership finally turn its fortunes around?
