Zegna

Dating from 1910, the Ermenegildo Zegna group is a family business that still remains true to the ideals of its founder: our grandfather, Ermenegildo. All our efforts converge on the attainment of utmost quality. every step of the way, from selection of the finest raw materials to development of innovative customer relations. Our grandfather built a series of vital infrastructures for his fellow citizens, from roads to schools. He always took a concrete interest in the welfare of his wool mill's work force. And his sense of social responsibility--his commitment to people--endures as a basic principle of our family. We have assimilated and enlarged upon Ermenegildo's environmental awareness. The group is presently involved in a number of major conservation projects, expression of the good corporate citizenship that has distinguished the company throughout its history. Inspired by our grandfather's legacy, the new generation of Zegnas is carrying on his work--weaving the future on the loom of the past. Ermenegildo Zegna establishes a textile business in Trivero, Italy, and develops a vertically integrated, luxury fabrics business. Sons Aldo and Angelo Zegna take over leadership of the business and launch the company's first men's clothing line. The company opens its first U.S. retail store in New York; the company forms a joint venture, V2, with Versace. The company acquires majority control of Guida, and its Longhi leather goods brand; a 50/50 joint venture, ZeFer, is established with Ferragamo. The new Z.Zegna youth-oriented brand, slated for the fall season, is launched. Ermenegildo Zegna SpA is the world's leading luxury men's suit maker. Based in the mountain village of Trivero, Italy, near the Swiss border, Zegna is a vertically integrated business, producing more than two million meters of fabric, more than 350,000 finished suits, and another two million shirts, ties, sportswear, and accessories per year. Zegna develops its own fabrics from the world's finest wools--although the company does not itself own sheep herds, it works closely with breeders and farmers in Australia, South Africa, and Mongolia to ensure its supply of top-grade cashmere, mohair, and merino wool. This commitment to top quality enables the company to produce fabrics from threads as fine as just 11 microns. Eschewing the "mass market" approach of rival Armani, which does not produce its own suits, Zegna has developed an exclusive clientele throughout the world. More than 85 percent of the company's sales is achieved outside of Italy, primarily through the company's own store network. Zegna is present in more than 380 shops throughout the world, of which 135 are full-scale retail stores owned by the company, while the others operate as boutiques within department stores. Europe is the company's largest market, at 38 percent of sales, followed by North America, at 33 percent of sales. The company also has a strong presence in the Australasia region, which accounts for 25 percent of its sales and includes China, one of the group's fastest-growing markets. Zegna also has launched an extremely exclusive line of "vintage" clothing, made from the year's finest wool, for which the client chooses his own colors and styles. Ermenegildo Zegna, named for its founder, remains wholly controlled by his family, now represented by its fourth generation, cousins and co-CEOs Ermenegildo and Paolo Zegna. Other members of the Zegna family play active roles in the company. Ermenegildo Zegna was just 20 years old when he took over his family's small wool-producing business in Trivero, a village in the Biella region of the Italian Alps, in 1910. This region had long been an important center for Italy's fabrics and wool industry, in large part because of the abundance and purity of its water. The low mineral content of the water played a primary role in the important wool finishing process, enabling the creation of softer and finer fabrics. By the beginning of the 196