About 10 million euros arrive and a new ad, Enrico Chieffi, to relaunch the Slam, the historic Genoese company of clothing for sailing, which also boasts the BMW Oracle racing team, winner of the America’s cup in 2010, and the crew that led Groupama to victory in the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race.
Purchase of a business unit
The relaunch of the Grand Slam which, with about 100 employees, has been sailing in difficult waters from an economic point of view for some years, is the Vam Investments, a private equity holding controlled by Francesco Trapani (former CEO of Bulgari), led by the CEO and shareholder Marco Piana and owned by Tages. Vam has absorbed the assets of Slam, with an operation, explains Piana, “for the acquisition of a business unit” which was completed through the newco Slam.com. «The vehicle used – explains Piana – is capitalized with 10 million euros. In the 2019 Slam balance sheet it had losses of several million (6.9, ed). We therefore plan to leave in break even, to reach profits already in 2022-2023 ».
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The agreement with the Negri family
The the previous owner of the Slam, that is Luigi Negri’s Finsea, however, does not leave the scene completely. “The agreement with the Negri family – says Piana – is not to make the size of the operation public but Finsea remains as a partner”, even if the entire operation is in the hands of Vam. At the helm of the new Slam was called Chieffi, former Olympian, world sailing champion in the Star and 470 classes as well as tactician of the Moor of Venice in the America’s cup in 1992 (he won the Louis Vuitton cup), and later manager in Nautor’s Swan (of which he remains senior advisor) with Leonardo Ferragamo.
Strategic plan and e-commerce
«For the Grand Slam – says Chieffi – we have not yet worked out a real industrial plan; but a strategic one, yes. We intend to bring sales back to 40 million euros as they were in 2010, while today they have fallen to 20 million, with a negative peak of 12 last year, due to the pandemic. The goal is to strengthen the Italian and international network of the company and we will see how to develop the commercial one. We think in particular ofe-commerce, given that Slam offers a young and sport-oriented product, which we believe is perfect for online sales. We also intend to make the production and organizational structure more efficient. We will try to become stronger where we already are, in sailing for example, and add new strengths. We will address the world of sport, adventure and the outdoors in the broadest sense. We have a privileged relationship with the One Ocean Foundation (Italian initiative for the protection of the oceans, ed) and we will continue the company’s commitment on the social side, staying close to young people with mental disorders “.