Brioni about to cut down staff by one third

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Mar 7, 2016

Brioni has committed to a major restructuring plan "due to its manufacturing overcapacity". Affected by a downturn in sales, the Italian label specialised in formal and luxury menswear, which was acquired by the Kering group in 2012, is envisaging a reduction of its staff, 1,200 people in total, by one third.

"These are structural lay-offs. The workshops and the manufacturing site have been overproducing relative to demand for a matter of 5 to 6 years now. We are organised to produce a number of suits that the market is no longer able to absorb, and this has dragged sales down," a spokesperson for the label explained to FashionMag.com.

The redundancies will affect four production sites in Italy: three in the Abruzzi region, especially in Penne, where the renowned Brioni tailoring workshops have long been established, and a fourth near Bergamo, in Lombardy.

A strike and a demonstration have been scheduled for Wednesday 9th March, the date on which the brand's management will reportedly hold a first meeting with the unions. The latter have estimated the number of redundancies which are expected to affect the company at about 400.

"In seven years, from 2009 up to now, over 275 jobs have been lost at Brioni's in Penne, to which another 54 jobs suppressed in other sites must be added," the unions have stated to the local press.

In early February Brioni announced the departure of its Creative Director Brendan Mullane, the first menswear CD in the fashion label's history.

With the British designer, the company led by Gianluca Flore had tried to revitalise the Brioni range, historically very classic, veering towards a more directional orientation. The brand notably returned to the Milan catwalks last year.

This kind of evolution has doubtlessly led Brioni's traditional customers astray, while at the same time the label was not able to win over a new following.