Q&a / What’s changed for Ermenegildo Zegna after going public? The Italian luxury fashion brand listed on the NYSE in 2021 … but remains very much a family company

Aug 2 , 2022

A model dons a head-to-toe neutral palette for Zegna men’s spring/summer 2023 collection presented in in Trivero, near Biella in northern Italy, on June 20. Photo: AP

The Italian luxury fashion label listed itself on Wall Street in 2021, but promises that it’ll stay true to its family-forward ethos, with CEO and chairman Gildo Zegna at the helm

Having acquired Thom Browne in 2018, Zegna shares that the group will keep a strong commitment to quality and service, and has planned post-Covid-19 strategies too

It’s been a busy few years for Italian luxury fashion powerhouse Ermenegildo Zegna, from acquiring Thom Browne in 2018 to listing itself on the NYSE in 2021. Here, we speak with Gildo Zegna, chairman and CEO at Ermenegildo Zegna, on upcoming collaborations, post-pandemic strategies for the Chinese market and taking the company public while staying true to its family-oriented roots.

How has Zegna changed since you took it public in 2021?

Zegna has a long history that we are very proud of, from a small wool mill in Trivero, northern Italy to a luxury global leader listed on Wall Street. The recent listing on the New York Stock Exchange was in a way both a tribute to Zegna history – to our legacy and the passion our family, generation after generation, put into building up the company – and at the same time instrumental for us to achieve our ambitions to go even further.

Zegna has a long history that we are very proud of, from a small wool mill in Trivero, northern Italy to a luxury global leader listed on Wall Street

Gildo Zegna

Being listed exposes a company to direct benchmarking and elevates the stakes, requiring a firm to focus on the execution of strategies to meet shareholder expectations. At the core of this transaction, the relationship with Andrea Bonomi and the team at Investindustrial was key. As a family business we now have a trusted partner.

Becoming a public company provided us with additional capital that we’ll use to support our ongoing expansion to spread our unmatched quality and heritage to more customers around the world. Yet despite all of this growth and the many changes that have come along the way, at our core we remain a family-led business founded on my grandfather’s beliefs that the very best garments can only come from the best natural resources, and that companies must focus on care for the environment and the people around us.

Models wear creations as part of the Zegna men’s spring/summer 2023 collection presented in Trivero, near Biella in northern Italy, on June 20. Photo: AP

How do you keep Zegna relevant with today’s luxury consumers?

Our strategy is based on product icons and excellence, which support our repositioning towards the top of the luxury scale, to attract new customers across all demographics. As a group and brand, we are constantly evolving to meet our client’s changing needs and their lifestyle. This is why our focus is moving towards luxury leisurewear and knitwear. That agility has allowed us to stay close to our customers and it is something we will continue to do.

While in the past we had different brands under the Ermenegildo Zegna label, we took a major step when we recently decided to focus on one strategy around a single brand – Zegna. We did this to create a more streamlined and dedicated brand, both unique and recognisable, while also allowing us to create new products including accessories such as our iconic trainer Triple Stitch.

Villa Zegna towers over the Zegna factory premises in Trivero, near Biella in northern Italy, where Italian fashion designer Zegna presents its men’s spring/summer 2023 collection. Photo: AP

How do you balance creativity and business?