Italian leather goods maker Gianfranco Lotti is making a comeback. The brand, originally founded in the Sixties, was acquired by German investment fund Halder last September via its purchase of Florentine parent company Bottega Manifatturiera Borse, or BMB, which also manufactures leather goods for other luxury brands.
“Because of a lack of resources, the brand was no longer available on the market,” chief executive officer Franco Lucá explained, while noting Lotti was popular in Asia until a few years ago. The first step in the brand’s revival was the opening, during couture week in Paris, of a 1,550-square-foot boutique on the city’s Rue Saint Honoré, in a space formerly occupied by Alberta Ferretti.
The two-story space offers bags for women and men as well as small leather goods and accessories, including ties and belts, and a capsule line of cashmere accessories. Its bags are all distinguished by the brand’s “keyhole” signature detail. The brand’s designs will continue to be based on “craftsmanship and timeless style,” said Lucá at a cocktail party Wednesday night.
A store in Florence is to follow in September, and one in Milan early next year. Two Chinese boutiques are also planned before the end of 2014. The brand will only operate through its own stores in the midterm. “Our aim is to become a global luxury player in the next two years,” said Lucá.
