Ferragamo’s New Path
By Alessandra Ilari
ROME — The Ferragamos are out to become more competitive.
The family, which also owns Ungaro, has mapped out a medium-term growth plan that revolves around new key executives in design and production who are being given more authority than ever; a stepped-up retail expansion program, and greater design unity between Ferragamo’s ready-to-wear and accessories collections.
As reported, over the past seven months Ferragamo has created three new executive posts: Hervè Martin joined as product general manager in September, while *Nathalie Gervais and Fulvio Zendrini arrived in March as creative director and head of international communications, respectively.
“The boom of fashion houses diversifying with accessories has resulted in a fiercer competition and a consequent loss of market share for Ferragamo, which is why we felt the need to implement our team,” said Ferragamo
Attracting a marquee name to design the company’s rtw clearly didn’t fit the bill, Ferragamo said, because the idea is to push the accessories rather than suffocate them for the sake of the apparel.
“We want to broaden our clientele but we’re a lifestyle brand more than an age target,” said Ferragamo. “We want to update that lifestyle and make it more appealing to a younger clientele without tweaking our characteristics.”
Only the eyewear is licensed to Luxottica for technical purposes. “We’re conservative when it comes to licenses because it’s still the best way to have total control and safeguard quality,” said Ferragamo
It's stagnated for a quite a few years while witnessing many of its competitors getting revitalized and taking off, and is now stale as a loaf of week-old bread. Has anyone seen their current ad campaigns? They look so dated I had to double check that I wasn't flipping through a mag from the 90's. 
