High Margin: Inside Zegna’s Next Chapter
Subscribe to High Margin by Robert Williams: perspectives on creativity and business in the world of luxury — from fashion and watches to art, wellness, travel and more.Happy Thanksgiving from Paris, where I’ll be extracting dinner for some chosen family from my very small — let’s say very European — oven. Here at BoF’s High Margin newsletter, we’re celebrating with a story about family, too: Gildo Zegna has been kind enough to join us from his office in Trivero, Italy. We spoke for an hour about how he’s preparing his succession at the helm of one of Italian fashion’s founding clans at a pivotal moment for his company and the industry. I’ve been bullish on Zegna for a while now: over the past few years the brand has changed just about everything, from its logo to distribution, store concept, merchandising and design — becoming a retail-driven, more-casual luxury lifestyle brand — without losing sight of who their customer is and should be. Then there’s been the transformation to a multi-brand group (acquiring Thom Browne and Tom Ford fashion) and becoming a publicly listed company after more than a century of private ownership.“I’ve created more value in the last five years of my career than in the first forty,” Mr. Zegna said. Now Zegna has unveiled plans for his gradual succession: CFO and COO Gianluca Tagliabue is being promoted to the role of group chief executive, the company announced Monday, while Gildo’s sons Angelo and Edoardo have been named co-CEOs of the Zegna brand, where they’ll work closely with designer Alessandro Sartori. (Zegna) For his part, Gildo is transitioning to an executive chairman role, where he’ll lead external affairs, legal and Zegna’s crucial textile and manufacturing platform. What was founded as a textile mill in 1910 still develops and manufactures over 60 percent of products in-house, a portion that is set to rise as the group completes construction of a new manufacturing hub for shoes and leather goods next year. (A recent analyst note from Bernstein, estimated the level of “upstream integration was higher even than Hermès.”)Beyond that, the idea is that Gildo will “still oversee almost everything, but without an interventionist approach… I’ve realised the less I intervene, the more people will come to me,” he said.Succession is a frequent — and urgent — topic these days: In the wake of Armani’s September death, licensee EssilorLuxottica is positioning itself to acquire 5-10 percent stake in the company, Il Sole 24 reported Monday, as its heirs seek to chart a way forward in compliance with its founders’ will. At Prada Group, the company is accelerating plans for Miuccia Prada’s and Patrizio Bertelli’s son Lorenzo to take the lead, announcing plans for him to spearhead the integration of the group’s new acquisition Versace (set to close December 2).In our conversation Wednesday, Gildo Zegna had a lot to say: from his evolving views on leadership, to the future of “Made in Italy,” to plans for his flagship brand to keep growing and evolving, while reinforcing Thom Browne and accelerating progress at a relaunched Tom Ford, where Haider Ackermann showed his debut collection in March. Here’s the full interview below ( lightly edited, to be sure). It’s a snapshot of one of Italian fashion’s most iconic firms, and of where its leader’s head is at during a pivotal moment for the company and the wider industry. I hope you’ll enjoy reading.—RobertRobert Williams: We’re still in a tough market for luxury. Why was now the right moment to move forward with planning and implementing your succession?Gildo Zegna: A transition of this kind should be made when you are healthy and clear-minded. Turning 70 is a symbolic milestone I’ve been preparing for. By moving to an Executive Chairman role, I can still oversee almost everything, but without the interventionist approach I used to have. The business has become very large, very articulated, very complex. It was time to put the operational side in the hands of someone who had proven resilience, professionalism and capacity — to cope with the best and the worst.RW: You’re referring to Gianluca Tagliabue [whom you’ve just promoted to group CEO]? GZ: Yes. With [Gianluca] have gone through the Covid period together, through the acquisition of Thom Browne and Tom Ford. Then the IPO. It’s not just a safe bet — it’s a wise bet. Then leading the Zegna brand there are my children Edoardo and Angelo, who have been promoted by meritocracy. They have created a very good work environment with peers. They have the support of the press, the investors, and most importantly the family. With the family shareholders and the wider organisation on our side, I think this change can create an incredible propeller to accelerate our growth at Zegna, and also to do better also on our two other brands, Ford and Browne. RW: At Zegna your sons are also working closely with [creative director] Alessandro Sartori, who has evolved into a really key figure in the company in recent years. Why has that hire turned out to be such a good fit? GZ: Alessandro embodies not only the brand values but also the style of life of our customers: men who choose with intention, who think in terms of timeless pieces rather than trends. As an artistic director, he translates our fabrics, our craftsmanship and our vision into a silhouette that feels both contemporary and enduring.There is also a personal bond: Alessandro was born in the hospital my grandfather built in Oasi Zegna, and he grew up within the landscape and culture that shaped our identity. With Edoardo and Angelo, they share the same clarity of purpose. RW: It feels like working with Alessandro, you’ve changed everything about the Zegna brand while still really building on its core strengths. Rather than changing your target client you really recognised how much your clients were changing. Is there an opportunity like that at Tom Ford, or is it a different challenge—maybe the business doesn’t have that same core? GZ: With all we did in these five years—which have been the most intensive of my career—I think I’ve created more value than in the first forty. At Zegna, we enhanced the relationship with the current client. But we also expanded the number of clients, a lot. It was about working with the current customer and making them feel great, giving them new chances to enjoy the brand, but then also growing very fast through word-of-mouth. The brand became a trans-generational success as well—you didn’t use to want to wear your papa’s clothes, now we have multiple generations in the same store.At our other brands we’ve made two great changes this year. There’s Haider, whose collection looks fantastic — both the men and the women are very pleased. Then at Thom Browne, we have Sam [Lobban], the new CEO. (Zegna) Now we have to make sure the changes create tangible results. Tom Ford has incredible brand strength because of what Tom did himself — his personality, the innovation, the success of the licensing business in beauty. The challenge is not awareness — on Instagram they have maybe six times [Zegna’s] followers? It’s converting that awareness into fashion customers.We still need to transfer what we did at Zegna to them. It’s about working in a synergistic way across functions, across the supply chain from the textile down to bespoke services. It takes a lot of cultural changes, systems, processes and people.RW: At Thom Browne the numbers are still down but seem to have stabilized a bit. The DTC is growing—the plan as I understand it is to focus on moving the demand from wholesale into the retail network.GZ: Right. It’s been a challenging move but I think in 2026 we will benefit from having relinquished more wholesale in favor of retail. We have the retail network now but we need to run it properly. This is what Sam, with his incredible know-how in merchandising and retailing, will be doing, and strengthening the team also.RW: Can you tell us a bit more about how you see your role going forward? We’ve seen different configurations for governance at big family companies lately. Someone like François-Henri Pinault is really stepping back as he transitions to chairman of Kering rather than CEO, while Mr. Bertelli at Prada became chairman and executive director, staying pretty closely involved. Which model would you say you’re following? GZ: It won’t be the Pinault model or the Bertelli model—it will be the Zegna model. I still have the textile under me, which in terms of content and in terms of importance to our branding eco-system is very important. I’ll have external relations, including investor relationships and sustainability, and also legal and general counsel. So these are three important areas, and I will still be involved in strategic decisions and major projects working with Gianluca on the three brands. I will still keep an eye on the product side—the product is the part I love the most. And as I will be traveling but at a slightly more leisurely pace than before, I’ll have time to keep an eye on our great network of relationships—with landlords, for example, whom I’ve known for many years. RW: When you say you want to manage with less intervention—have you conceptualised, have you thought about what that will really feel like to not intervene? GZ: It’s a mindset. I’m a disciplined guy, and when I decide to do something, I do it. I’m available for recommendations. The less I intervene, the more people will come to me. RW: You mentioned that Gianluca, Edo and Angelo have the wider family’s support. Remind me how that’s structured—the family shares are in a holding company right? GZ: The family controls the group through our holding company, Monterubello, in which I am the major shareholder, plus some shares that I control myself. It’s 19 family shareholders now, but as the generations go by it expands. Which is why having an [external] CEO to look after [Gruppo Zegna] is such an important project. When the family is united, decisions are easy. But the foundation comes from years of work, transparency and involvement. When you prepare the soil well, the weather only helps. The family holds around 60 percent of shares and 75 percent of votes. We were slightly diluted by the arrival of Temasek [Singapore’s state-backed investment vehicle, which invested over the summer]. They were interested in getting back into luxury having had a big success investing in Moncler; they bought 5 percent of shares on the open market and approached us to buy 5 more percent from the treasury shares. That sent a strong positive signal at a time when the market was down on luxury. Since then, the family has bought back some shares, too, taking advantage of the dip in the market. Could you talk about the broader demand environment — do you think luxury can return to growth next year?GZ: We are moving on the right track, but it depends on geopolitics. I remain positive, but prudent — especially regarding China. We must work with what we have, be realistic, avoid dreaming. If China returns to the old levels, great, but we shouldn’t count on it.(Zegna) Otherwise, for us growth is coming from the United States, Latin America, the Gulf area, particularly the Emirates. We’re also holding on pretty well in Europe.Many variables are simply out of our hands. In the end foreign exchange rates is what hurt us more than tariffs. I’m cautious, but ready to react. With an integrated supply chain, we can accelerate quickly when needed.We’re flexible, fast, we control what we do, and we’re cash positive. Cash is king: I sleep well because we don’t rely on debt. The family likes it. Investors like it. And having two strong shareholders — Investindustrial and Temasek — in addition to the family gives us powerful support.RW: You mentioned you’ll be still manage textiles and manufacturing. Did you see that analyst note the other day saying Zegna’s level of “upstream integration” is actually higher than Hermès? I think they mean the share of products that are manufactured in-house. GZ: We really have an integrated brand in terms of supply chain, covering all the production phases from sheep to shop. And we are going to integrate more, not less. I don’t know what the figure is for Hermès, but we’re going to pass 60 percent of products produced in-house next year with our new factory for shoes and leather goods. It’s really more of a big atelier in which artisans can work — and communicate on their work, because I want to make sure stakeholders understand we are not only an integrated supply chain on textiles and ready-to-wear, but also on leather.RW: Still, the supply chains for most luxury brands are very interconnected. How do you prevent situations like the labour abuses being investigated at many brands and suppliers over the past year? GZ: Probably my biggest responsibility going forward is to protect this integrated supply chain; because that’s really Zegna’s legacy. But it’s a very complicated matter, and sometimes brands and suppliers make mistakes. It’s not fair to condemn the whole hard work, the know-how of the “Made in Italy”, and all the tradition we had. What has been created is not perfect but I think is a very good standard. If you look at the percentage, [the suppliers in question] are really a small percentage.I actually think this new “Made in Italy” law that’s being brought forth will be very helpful to certify all the processes. Because it’s literally impossible to control every single phase of every single product yourself. The important thing when you make mistakes is to look at them and intervene and fix them. So let’s work together to prevent these things from happening. I think we need a national model, which is what the Camera Della Moda is working on with the authorities.
