Inside Style Capital CEO Roberta Benaglia’s Big Plans For Autry
Style Capital’s strategy for Autry is coming into focus.
The Milan-based private equity fund, which purchased a 50.2 percent stake in the premium sneaker brand in March, remains laser-focused on its plans for Autry’s growth as it moves into next year. With a strong market position, inspired by the American sneaker brand of the 1970s and 1980s, Autry has grown to reach sales of more than 120 million euros in 2023.
Roberta Benaglia, founder and chief executive officer of Style Capital, told FN in an exclusive interview that while there is demand for Autry in the market, her goal is to follow a healthy growth path to ensure that the brand does not become overexposed.
In fact, Benaglia said that they are pulling back the brand’s distribution in Italy, one of Autry’s largest markets. “The strategy for the current year is to reduce the turnover in the Italian region, not to overexpose the product in our local country,” the CEO said. “The ability to create that sense of scarcity is crucial in order to go on to generate a positive appetite for the brand and to achieve a longer-term healthy growth.”
In 2023, Italy accounted for 34 percent of Autry’s sales, but Style Capital’s goal now is to reduce this to between 25 percent to 28 percent in the near term.
Benaglia noted that she will rebalance some of this reduction in business in Italy with a focus on growth in France, Spain and Germany. “This is our main strategy in Europe, where we are still thinking to move from a simple wholesale business strategy to a multi-channel strategy,” she said. “We are also growing in our digital channel, which represents 20 percent of the current business of the company.”
Also in Europe, Autry plans to open eight shop-in-shops across Rinascente locations in Italy as well as Le Bon Marché and Galleries Lafayette stores in Paris. Two additional shop-in-shops will open in South Korea as well.
Speaking of Korea, Benaglia added that another important step the company has done in the region is to “completely cut” the distribution contract that it had with the local partner in order to sell direct. “Korea is a very important market, but it’s sometimes risky to be a target for a lot of gray market goods,” she said. “So, we created a local subsidiary to have the direct control of the market.”
Expect to see more Autry flagship stores globally, too. The executive said that the brand plans to open one in Le Marais in Paris and one in Soho in London in the first quarter of 2025.
As for the U.S., the company is busy “reintroducing” Autry to the customer. Benaglia noted that Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s are key retail partners and she is looking at opening stores in New York or Miami in the future (no timeline was given as to exactly when, though.)
These plans come after the Milan-based private equity fund inked an agreement with Autry International to buy a 50.2 percent stake in the premium sneaker brand in March. Style Capital bought Autry from The Made in Italy Fund and the brand’s founders, the Doro family. The transaction value was pegged at around 300 million euros. In terms of ownership, The Made in Italy fund reinvested a share of 8 percent and the Doro family retains a 42 percent share.
The Made in Italy Fund, which is managed by Quadrivio and Pambianco and invests in wine, food, beauty, fashion and furniture, in 2021 acquired a majority stake in Autry and sneaker brand Ghoud. The fund over the years invested in brands ranging from 120% Lino and Rosantica to Dondup and GCDS.
Style Capital’s portfolio includes Los Angeles-based denim brand Re/Done and Italian labels Forte Forte and MSGM. In 2021, it invested 130 million euros to acquire a 40 percent stake in Florence-based multibrand e-tailer LuisaViaRoma, one of the four leading luxury online shopping destinations in Europe and the U.S.