Miroglio

Miroglio is an Italian firm specialising in the manufacture and distribution for sale of ready-to-wear clothing and fabrics. Incorporated in Alba, Cuneo, Italy, the Group has 49 business operations in 34 countries. The Group develops the Apparel product stream in lockstep its store network, currently encompassing 1,200 single-branded stores.

History

The firm was established at Alba in 1947 by Giuseppe Miroglio, son of Carlo and Angela Miroglio, both of whom ran a drapery business at the turn of the 19th century. The move from trade to industry dates back to when Giuseppe Miroglio decided to venture into the production of silk fabrics and the installation of looms. Vestebene (now Miroglio Fashion) was established in 1955. This division is dedicated to mass-production of fashionable women's clothes. In 1958, the Miroglio Group broadened its sphere of activity by opening a modern dyeing, special cloth finishing and textile-printing plant, thereby completing the fabric-to-garment production chain.

Vestebene started moving some of its production away from Italy in the 1970s, initially to Greece and then to other countries, from Tunisia to Egypt, throughout the Mediterranean. At the same time its fabric division diversified into the thread, yarn, and transfer paper industries. Over the course of the next two decades, the group opened new manufacturing operations in Southern Italy, particularly in the Apulia region.^[1]

In 1973, the Fondazione Opera Elena Miroglio (now the Fondazione Elena e Gabriella Miroglio) was established. This has a focus on raising awareness of cultural, welfare, and social issues. Emphasis is placed on activities oriented towards Group employees (healthcare and economic support) and towards their children (nurseries, holiday camps, scholarships) and, not least, towards the group's pensioners, providing them with pleasure trips and other recreations.^[2]

The Elena Mirò brand was launched in 1984 (or 1985, according to its current website^[3]). (Since 2005, the brand has been targeted at the more generous sizing womenswear sector.^[4]) By the mid-1980s, the Group was forging a strategic alliance with leading stylists such as Moschino and Krizia. Eventually other brands were born, such as Caractère and Diana Gallesi, as well as Motivi in 1993.^[5]

Another milestone along the route to internationalisation was the Group's entry into the Bulgarian market, accomplished in 2001 through acquisition of a legendary production site at Sliven.^[6]

In October 2002, the president of the Italian Republic conferred on Carlo Miroglio, chairman of the Miroglio Group, the Cavaliere di Gran Croce (Knight Grand Cross), an insignia bestowed on those who, in the course of their life and professional career, have been singularly meritorious with long and conspicuous service in social, commercial and industrial activities.^[7]

Gaining shape in 2003 were rumours of imminent withdrawal by Miroglio from its manufacturing facilities in Southern Italy, starting with the production site at Castellaneta earmarked for shut down in the Spring 2004.

In December 2004, the Miroglio Group seals a joint venture agreement with Elegant Prosper, a Chinese enterprise specialising in mid/upper bracket womenswear. The initial investment enabled the Italian Group to acquire a interest in the jointly controlled Asian entity. The joint venture was primed primarily toward providing a platform for more vibrant brand growth and development. Following in the wake thereof were specific projects, all of which designed toward enhancing awareness of Miroglio's Italian brand names across the Asian marketplace.^[8]

At end 2006, the Miroglio Group oversteps one thousand stores flying the Miroglio banner.^[9]

During 2007, on occasion of the International Women's Day, the insignia of Cavaliere della Repubblica (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) was awarded to Elena Miroglio. The insignia was bestowed by virtue of the contribution made by the Elena Mirò brand and by the Group toward "emancipating women from a constrictive concept of beauty", as declared during the award ceremony by Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Republic.^[10]

In June 2008, the Miroglio Group acquired a stake in the Ayaydin Group, a sector leading competitor, specialising in womenswear fashion, across the Turkish marketplace. As agreed by contract, the Miroglio Group works toward building up the market footprint forged by the Ayaydin Group across the homeland and across emerging markets (such as Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Moldavia). The contract contemplates an important five-year investment plan.^[11]

Shut down at end 2008 was one other production site managed and operated by the Group at Ginosa in Apulia, becoming the subject of parliamentary questions and debate.^[12][13]

In September 2009, the Motivi brand had 500 single-branded stores: 340 stores in Italy and 160 stores abroad. The brand is distributed in 36 countries with significant market presence in Russia (45 proprietary stores) and in the rest of Eastern Europe (50 stores scattered across Romania, Poland, Croatia, and Lithuania).

Current organization

The Miroglio Group operates through two separate and distinct companies: Miroglio Fashion (specialising in womenswear) and Miroglio Textile (specialising in fabrics, spun yarns and transfer paper). The womenswear brands clustered under the Group are: Motivi, a fast fashion brand name created in the 1990s for younger customers; Oltre, created in 2001 by way of spontaneous flow down from Motivi, with customer profile targeted toward to the over 35; and Fiorella Rubino, the brand for the more generous sizing womenswear sector.

Increasing demand for comfortable yet stylish and fashionable clothing culminated into Elena Mirò, the brand leader heading the “curvy” womenswear sector. The Miroglio Group’s more generous sizing business segment is multi-pronged by Luisa Viola and Per Te by Krizia (developed in partnership with the Milan stylist Mariuccia Mandelli). Clustered within the “regular sizing” bracket of the market are such brands as Caractère and Diana Gallesi.

Bibliography

• Carugati Decio G.; Marsano Beba Vestebene Miroglio. Cinquant'anni di storia attraverso la moda 2005, 101 p., ill., rilegato Mondadori Electa (collana Industria e design)

Notes

External links

• Official website