Renzo Rosso's ambition is to develop his company OTB - which already owns the brands Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Jil Sander and Maison Margiela among others - into an Italian luxury group as powerful as Kering or LVMH.
The founder of Diesel told the Financial Times that he wanted to build an Italian luxury cluster, regretting that Italy - one of the homelands of fashion - does not have an example as strong as that of the two French groups, and that the Italian fashion world is too fragmented, pushing brands such as Gucci, Bulgari, Fendi or Bottega Veneta to prefer the solidity of the LVMH or Kering empires.
President of the OTB holding company (the acronym for "Only The Braves") Renzo Rosso plans to capitalise the group on the stock market. His move has a clear objective: to unite and strengthen the various Italian components in the fashion world, and to create a stronger conglomerate of iconic brands, in order to put their own strengths at the service of each other.
Rosso's main goal is to conquer the juicy Asian market. OTB opened a subsidiary in South Korea last year and 25% of its global turnover is accounted for by the Japanese market.
In 2021, OTB recorded sales of EUR 1.53 billion, a remarkable growth compared to the previous year's annual turnover of EUR 1.3 billion.
China remains one of OTB's key markets: Rosso has announced plans to double the number of shops in the country from 80 to 160 by 2024. One third of OTB's investments over the next three years will be concentrated on developing partnerships and opening outlets in the Asian giant's cities. The group has just opened a 2,400 square metre space in the lavish Shanghai JC Plaza shopping centre and aims to increase its popularity on Chinese social networks such as WeChat and Weibo.
Renzo Rosso is an eclectic character with an unusual background: he founded Diesel in 1978 at only 23 years old. Today his business and brands employ 6000 people worldwide. Diesel has been a pioneer in creating all-gender fashion and introducing denim and casual style to the luxury world.
Three weeks ago, Renzo Rosso received the "Green Award -Special Prize" at the Greentech Festival in Berlin; the prize is reserved for companies that have been able to integrate ecological and sustainable strategies into their policies.
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