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Not even two months have passed since the acquisition of JC Industry, announced last November 23rd by Jacob Cohën Company, but it is as if Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle and Luca Roda, president and CEO of the Venetian company, had already metabolized the operation and were – indeed, they are – completely projected into the future. «It was an important and demanding step from a financial point of view – underlines Jennifer Bardelle –, also made possible by illimity Bank’s trust in our project: in 2024 we will begin to reap the fruits of the great autonomy we have gained».
JC Industry is the Sinv group company which, starting from the autumn-winter 21-22 collection, has produced and distributed Jacob Cohën branded garments under license. A successful and perhaps necessary partnership at that moment in the history of the brand, which was launched in the early 2000s by Nicola Bardelle, who died prematurely in 2012 at just 45 years old.
«The acquisition is a step forward in the development and expansion of Jacob Cohën – confirms Luca Roda -. Bringing production and distribution control in-house means being able to personally manage the evolution of the product and its positioning on the markets. I say this without taking anything away from the years of collaboration with Sinv and in particular with Francesco Dalla Rovere, who was a precious partner in the seasons in which he managed the licence”.
In over twenty years since the launch of the brand, the world of luxury denim has grown a lot, partly in the wake of Jacob Cohën and the intuitions of Nicola Bardelle, who had imagined the transformation of jeans into a truly tailored and highly sought-after garment in details and materials to be considered in all respects a luxury product. «What still guides us is that vision, to which we are adding pieces – says Jennifer Tommasi Bardelle -. From jeans we moved on to the total look and took a first step towards the world of home decor with candles. The main collections, for men and women, will remain two, flanked by capsules, such as the one dedicated to the world of après ski. One can reflect on the acceleration that the world of fashion has had and perhaps not be entirely convinced – explains the president of Jacob Cohën Company –, but it is a fact that consumers expect new things every month and that these are important for visits to shops”.
E-commerce is guaranteed (also) by a partnership with Farfetch, Luca Roda is focused on the retail and wholesale channels: «From a thousand multi-brand customers we have gone to around 700, a selection that does not necessarily reduce turnover, because we focus on customers whose sell-out we know and who can give greater space to the Jacob Cohën collections”. The ambition is to grow, but in a sustainable way also from the point of view of profitability: «2023 will close with a turnover of around 80 million and an increasing ebitda – specifies the CEO -. In 2024 we intend to consolidate this result and carefully choose which directions to invest in.”