The Swiss leather and fashion brand Bally is in a celebratory mood, having finally recovered from run of several years in the red.”We had some great news last year. We broke even,” said Bally CEO, Marco Franchini, who was head hunted from the Gucci Group three years ago to turn around the struggling fashion house. Franchini is responsible for a different strategy at Bally. Instead of focusing on the turnover, he has set his sights on improving margins and he is now reaping the benefits. The label achieved a double-digit increase in operating margins last year, thereby returning to profitability.
“Our goal is to grow by between 15 and 20 per cent this year, and the results for the year so far show that we are going to achieve our projections,’ Franchini told FWD. Last year Bally achieved sales of approximately € 300 million (GBP 203 million), so 15 per cent would mean a growth of € 45 million per year.
Franchini plans on expanding the company organically. “We already had an excellent network of stores, the key thing was updating their look and getting the right product in there,” he said. As part of it’s updating strategy the key flagship Bally stores are being refurbished using more wood, lighter colours and a brighter, lighter atmosphere.
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Bally’s new menswear collection was presented last week Monday in Milan. “This season we are emphasizing Acapulco,” said accessories designer Johnny Coca. The label is concentrating more on its accessories business than on fashion, although the latter received exuberant reviews from FWD’s Godfrey Deeny. Founded in 1851, the Lugano-based company was bought out by US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group in 1999.