MILAN — Slowear has promoted Marco Bernardini to chief executive officer. He had been chief financial officer since 2015. In addition to Slowear, the Venice-based company is parent to Incotex casual pants; Zanone high-end knitwear; Glanshirt causal shirts; Montedoro outerwear, and Officina Slowear accessories and footwear.
As CEO, Bernardini succeeds Roberto Compagno, president of Slower, who died last September, aged 62.
Compagno spearheaded the growth of the company, which in 2018 sold a minority interest to Nuo Capital, an investment vehicle backed by Hong Kong’s Pao Cheng family.
Slowear revealed on Monday the company remains controlled by the family and that it has formed a new board, which now includes Compagno’s wife Nella Loero and their daughter Elisabetta Compagno, with ESG proxies. Paolo Ferrin was named president of the board, which also saw the arrival of former Valentino CEO Stefano Sassi, as a shareholder of Nuo Capital; Tommaso Paoli, and Giorgio Delpiano, CEO of Third Party Brands Zegna Group.
The shareholders are accelerating Slower’s sustainability targets and, to this end, have changed its bylaws to become a benefit corporation, aiming to reach B Corp certification in 2023.
Praising Slowear for its “quality, aesthetics and durability,” Bernardini said “the new organization is expected to shape the future with decision but in the sign of continuity.”
A strong believer in delivering experience through brick-and-mortar stores, Compagno oversaw the retail expansion of Slowear, which counts 32 stores in the world’s main shopping capitals, including Milan, Florence, London, Paris, New York City, Munich, Tokyo and Seoul, as well as key international department stores.
The company is now planning to open 20 additional units over the next four years, including a key flagship bowing in New York in mid-June — the company’s second store in the city.
At the same time, it has been building a strong online business, which saw 23 percent growth in the first quarter of 2022.
Slowear will present its spring 2023 collection during Milan Men’s Fashion Week and is returning to Pitti Uomo in June after an absence of six years with its denim project Incotex Blue Division, in a partnership with denim specialist Giada SpA. Concurrently, it will take over the windows of the Rinascente department store in Florence.
