Pinko, the Italian fashion brand owned by the CRIS Conf company based in Fidenza, has announced a strategic partnership with Lima Commercial Management – an important player in Chinese retail. This step takes place in a crucial phase for the company, which, due to challenges in the Asian market, recently occurred in negotiations on debt rescheduling.
The financial difficulties of Cris Conf are due to an aggressive expansion strategy in China. In 2019, the company secured a loan of 81 million euros from a banking consortium, which initially boosted growth, according to the Italian news platform Pambianco. However, the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic brought the company to a standstill. Despite a strong recovery in 2022, when sales increase by 33 percent to 220 million euros, Pinko reinforced its investments in China. The brand operated 90 own stores and an office with around 50 employees on site and aimed to double the market presence and achieve sales of 500 million euros within five years.
This ambitious strategy proved to be risky because the economic cooling in China heavily burdened Pinko’s financial health. At the end of 2023, the growing difficulties caused CEO Pietro Negra to initiate debt rescheduling. However, when one of the creditor banks refused to take part, the company was delayed.
In the middle of this financial uncertainties, the Pinko workforce, which includes a total of 500 employees, looks at an uncertain future. On January 31, the Italian union Filctem CGIL demanded urgent discussions with the corporate management. The union representatives: According to Pambianco, concerns about the effects of the restructuring process on the workforce and demanded more transparency in decision -making.
A new growth strategy for China?
Against this background, the now announced cooperation with Lima Commercial Management signals an attempt to revitalize Pinkos Markt presence in China. The partnership should not only enable renewed expansion, but also introduce a ready-to-wear collection specially developed for China.
Despite this development, important questions about the overarching restructuring strategy remain open, especially with regard to production and employment. While the creditors continue to advise on their further procedures, Pinko’s next steps are followed by both industry observers: inside and stakeholders with great attention.
This article previously appeared on fashionunited.uk and was used with digital tools translated.
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