One hundred and eighty people hired in one year with the forecast of soon rising to 250 and a goal of business growth – which is worth 1.2 billion euros in retail – of 20% in the first twelve months of activity: these are the first results of the new chapter dedicated to beauty by Dolce&Gabbana which last year, after thirty years, decided to take direct control of the production, distribution and sale of its lines of fragrances, makeup and, in the future, skincare by terminating the licensing relationship with Shiseido and founding the company Dolce&Gabbana Beauty.
«A year ago we mentioned this project which saw our partner Shiseido still take care of the production and distribution part for the whole of 2022 while we took over the research and development and communication part to then be completely autonomous from 1 January 2023 with the total handover – says Alfonso Dolce, president and managing director of Dolce&Gabbana Beauty. And what we said we did: from a reality that consisted of two people on 1 September 2021, we have now moved on to a company that employs around 180, of which 107 in the new Milan headquarters and another 70 around the world in the branches of the various regions that we have created: in Miami, Singapore, France, Spain and Dubai».
Human capital, after all, is the real engine of this project, according to Dolce, and is destined to grow. «We will reach 250 very quickly – adds Gianluca Toniolo, operating managing director of Dolce&Gabbana Beauty -. People who come from 25 countries work in Milan because we need to have a varied vision of the tastes of the world. The average age is 36, 67% are women and we speak 18 languages».
Dolce continues: «We have given credibility to this project by creating a legal entity, giving it a home with qualified personnel and collaborating with partners both in the supply chain and in the distribution area. Intercos is the most significant partnership: we have acquired 2% of its capital, equal to approximately 10% of the free float. So we didn’t make a light choice, but a long-life strategy”. The first result of the new course is the recent launch of the Queen fragrance for women, which will be followed in September by that of a new blockbuster, always feminine, closely linked to the world of fashion in addition to the restyling of packaging and starting products. All with an approach that sees two concepts dear to the Dolce&Gabbana company as central: Italian spirit and craftsmanship. «The idea – explains Dolce – is to tell the brand from a unique point of view in all its forms, from the house to the jewel to the watches.
Beauty is closely linked to fashion with the same strategic direction and the same creative directors, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana «and therefore we can benefit from the brand’s codes – adds Toniolo -. We looked for highly specialized subcontractors for a production process that required extensive research for a product that is not just an access door to the brand, but a real experience. From now on everything will be made in Italy. It is too early to give concrete numbers because we are in the development and migration phase. Let’s start from a business that in world retail value is close to 1.2 billion. Our consolidation will be lower because two levels of margins have to be removed: that of retail which is 50% and another 20% between distributors and agents».