FGF Industry brand Blauer expands into Scandinavia and the Balkans, women’s and kid’s wear performs very well

There has been positive momentum between the end of 2025 and the start of 2026 for Italian apparel group FGF Industry, headquartered in Montegalda. Under owner Enzo Fusco, the company has consistently delivered strong margins and revenues, and achieved a turnover increase of over 6 per cent, as he had forecast six months ago. “€80 million in apparel turnover which, with accessory licences- especially footwear- adding a further €14 million, took us to €94 million at the end of 2025,” the owner and founder of FGF Industry, Enzo Fusco, tells FashionNetwork.com.

At retail, Blauer opened a store in Bari in the second half of the year. The Trieste opening was moved to February, but in December another directly managed 120-square-metre Blauer mono-brand store opened on Brescia’s most prestigious street. “We want to get to a point where all mono-brand stores are directly managed. At the moment, four or five are not,” says Enzo Fusco about Blauer, which has around 10 directly operated stores, while there are five franchises. “With Trieste opening, and then Naples, in 2026 we will reach a minimum of 12 directly operated stores. As for the franchises, when the contracts expire, we either take them over 100 per cent or open new ones, because we now prefer direct management.”

After reopening markets in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and having begun distributing Blauer in Denmark and Sweden for the winter season (around a dozen clients with the first summer collection, ed.), Blauer’s international expansion continues, with the aim of increasing the brand’s foreign sales to at least 50% of the total, up from the current 30%. “For the winter season we already plan to reach 40% abroad. I predict that by the end of 2026 we could be talking about 45–50% of turnover generated outside Italy. With our regular customers, those who have been with us for many years, we have sell-through rates of 70–75% before the sales, and that’s a lot,” says Fusco.

The leading markets for the group after Italy are in the DACH region, especially Germany and Austria, which continued to grow last season, followed by Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic. “Portugal is also doing very well,” says Enzo Fusco, “however, now, having opened the Balkans, Turkey, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, these countries will bring us an increase in 2026, raising the bar for the value of our exports relative to Italy. Within two or three seasons, I hope to generate more turnover abroad, always remembering that Italy is the nation that allowed Blauer to become what it is now. In our home market we are aiming for a more carefully controlled and more upmarket distribution.”

Enzo Fusco is very satisfied with the sales results of the childrenswear lines, up 20 per cent on the previous year. Womenswear accounted for 45% of sales in Autumn/Winter. “From the data I have, this year we may even bring it up to 48% of the total,” he stresses.

The 4,500-square-metre expansion project of FGF Industry’s headquarters is also well underway. “We plan to move in between May and June, because the building is already there- it’s the interiors that need to be finalised.” The old headquarters will also be renovated, while the company store, which faces the street in front of the plant in a recently renovated 800-square-metre warehouse, will be enhanced in the future- Fusco hopes within a year- by a Caffè Blauer.

Blauer is distributed to about 1,600 clients (around a hundred more than last year) between Italy and Europe, while Ten C can be found in 280 stores worldwide.

It is Ten C in particular (with its clothing and outerwear made entirely in Italy from fine Japanese fabrics) that has especially pleased Fusco. “Thanks to the new sales director, with Ten C we are off to a good start in South Korea, because the group that distributes us there has already opened two stores in shopping centres, and three more are set to open in 2026, bringing the total to 10 boutiques in two years. And we managed to open in the UK- two corners in Manchester and London. Thanks to Liam Gallagher, the lead singer of Oasis, who performed between 10 and 15 concerts in England wearing our jacket throughout. And it was his choice, it wasn’t arranged, unintentionally giving Ten C’s marketing an incredible boost.”

The collection presented at Pitti Uomo in January 2026 features no fewer than 350 references, offering a total look. There are 14 employees, including those who work in the stores. “The important thing is that we always have balance sheets in the black. I want to say that, because it’s no small thing, with EBITDA in 2025 standing at 22%. We think we’re working well,” concludes the entrepreneur from Veneto.

Finally, this year Blauer celebrates 25 years in Italy and the union of American heritage with the Italian vision of fashion, with an event curated by creative director Felice Limosani in the Salone d’Onore at Triennale Milano, entitled “Blauer– 25th Anniversary.” The installation is conceived as an immersive experience: a dialogue between photography, architecture, design, and sound design that transforms the hall into a visual orchestra, in which Blauer presents “Family Grammar,” a project that is not corporate but rather “a cultural installation that stages a shared language, where art, business and contemporary sensibility dialogue in harmony,” Limosani explains.

Founded in Boston in 1936, Blauer has become a benchmark for technical police and military uniforms, embodying the values of quality, performance, and durability. Thanks to the foresight of Enzo Fusco, Blauer entered Italy in 2001 without losing its identity. Under the leadership of the Fusco family- Enzo, Silvana, and the next generation, Federica Fusco D’Amore and Giuseppe D’Amore- the brand has become a point of reference for those seeking style, authenticity, and performance. A family story that believed in the brand’s potential and supported its growth through to the acquisition of a 50% stake via BWF (Blauer World Fashion).