Woolrich looks to its past

Just two months ago, the Turin-based BasicNet group, owner of the Kappa, Robe di Kappa, K-Way, Superga, Sebago and Briko brands, announced it had reached an agreement to acquire the Europe operations of Woolrich, the historic American brand founded in 1830. Last week also saw the announcement of the suspension of the transfer of the 139 employees currently based at the Bologna headquarters. In short, much has been written in recent months, and the Woolrich name has been at the centre of many conversations in the fashion industry. The Pitti Uomo appearance was highly anticipated.

Lorenzo Boglione, CEO of BasicNet, accompanied by brand director Marco Tamponi, who joined the company in 2017 to oversee Sebago (from both a commercial and creative standpoint), met with the press and outlined the first steps under the new ownership at the Florentine event.

The approach is one of great pride and deep respect for the brand’s DNA: for Boglione, it is “about being custodians of 200 years of history and having the ability and vision to evolve the brand into the contemporary era.”

The first step, then, is study: not only of the garment archive (over 15,000 pieces), but also of the fabrics (over 12,000 samples), which represent a significant part of Woolrich’s heritage. Boglione recalls that the American company was founded in Pennsylvania by John Rich and Daniel McCormick to manufacture fabrics for clothing worn by hunters, lumberjacks and trappers.

“Workwear and outerwear are deeply rooted in American culture, which makes it fascinating to explore their history,” the CEO commented.

The words “time” and “patience” surfaced repeatedly during the press conference. Boglione spoke in measured tones and was keen to emphasise that each step will be taken slowly, in a considered and structured way.

“We bought a brand that had a turnover of 90 million but was in great financial difficulty. Fortunately, we are not chasing immediate results or easy turnover. We all tend to remember Woolrich today for a single jacket style, whereas the brand is much more than a product that was immensely successful 20 years ago. We will not repeat the mistake of lacking a 360-degree vision. We will return to its past and its archive for this very reason: to be able to tell the incredible story of this brand,” he said.

These first weeks have therefore been used to study the current market, define the next steps, and begin work on a collection (both men’s and women’s, a segment that currently accounts for 30 per cent) that will need to be broad and well-structured. The path envisaged by the Boglione-Tamponi duo recalls what was done with Sebago and champions a slow business approach.

“Only on one thing did we work in great haste with a sense of urgency: we had a beautiful space in Turin, our city, and we raced to open a flagship in time for Christmas. For everything else, we don’t have to rush,” they explained with a smile.

“Italy and Germany today are the two main markets (they account for 80 per cent) with high brand awareness. Surely we could start here, but we will not hesitate to look wherever the collection can meet the tastes of new consumers,” Boglione stressed.

On the production side, Woolrich will be able to rely on BasicNet’s highly structured and diversified supply chain, international in scope, with many product categories produced in Italy.

Drawing on his experience with Sebago, Tamponi will lead creative development and commercial strategy together with a team that is taking shape, with every decision carefully considered and made collectively.

For Pitti, Boglione and Tamponi conceived the Woolrich space as a themed room in which the buffalo check motif covers the surfaces and creates a warm, deeply American atmosphere. Archival catalogues, historical images and tangible evidence of the brand’s long history—original spools of yarn, portraits of founder John Rich and his family—line the walls. Objects that speak of an age-old craft, one that survived the 1903 fire that destroyed part of the archives but not the company’s identity. And it is from that identity that everything is now ready to start again.