Safilo aims to sign up new brand partners before losing Dior: CEO

[July 01, 2019]  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian eyewear group Safilo is working to sign up new brand partners by the end of this year, well before it loses its Dior license at the end of 2020, Chief Executive Angelo Trocchia told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Dior has decided not to renew its license with Safilo when it expires. The brand owner, French luxury giant LVMH <LVMH.PA>, is expected to license the brand instead to a joint venture it has with Marcolin, a rival to Safilo.

"We are working on renewing existing licenses and expanding the portfolio with new licenses by the end of the year," Trocchia said.

Dior accounted for 13% of Safilo revenues in 2018 and the news dragged the company's share price down 6%.

The current trading "is in line with what we have set for the year", which is sales growth of 2-4%, Trocchia added.

Safilo said in a statement on Monday that would present a new business plan by the end of this year. "It will be a three-year plan starting from 2021 and it will be probably presented between October and November," Trocchia said.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

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