“We will discontinue the Zegna franchise. However, we will open a multibrand store with the brands best suited to the customers in Romania, using Corneliani as the main brand,” the 51-year old entrepreneur said without elaborating further.
Corneliani is a luxury men’s fashion brand, mainly known for its suits and jackets. A suit costs more than EUR1,500.
Srdjan Kovacevic introduced several brands in Romania such as Max Mara, Ermenegildo Zegna, Coccinele and Emporio Armani.
About a year ago, he said that Max Mara and Ermenegildo Zegna stores were the most important for this company, each of them generating EUR1.2 million to EUR1.3 million in revenue. A customer of Ermenegildo Zegna, one of the best-known men’s luxury brands, usually spent EUR1,000 to EUR1,500. Kovacevic explained that the Zegna had not felt the crisis, despite being a luxury brand, because it was easy to sell.
The closure of Zegna comes shortly after another luxury store nearby on Calea Victoriei, the Hugo Boss monobrand store, closed. The two Hugo Boss stores operated by franchisees in Bucharest and Constanta closed after the entrepreneurs decided not to renew the contract on dwindling sales by 10% in the last couple of years.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)