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<\/p>\nBy Giulio Piovaccari and Giulia Segreti<\/p>\n
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MARANELLO, Italy, June 11 (Reuters) – Talk about fast fashion.<\/p>\n
Ferrari is racing through the gears to bring its Prancing Horse brand to the catwalk and fine dining in an attempt to woo wealthy customers beyond its faithful fans.<\/p>\n
The Italian company renowned for its Formula One racing team and high-powered sports cars adorned with the Cavallino Rampante logo is launching a fashion collection on Sunday and reopening a restaurant in its hometown of Maranello two days later.<\/p>\n
The clothing line comes from creative director and former Armani designer Rocco Iannone while Michelin-starred Italian chef Massimo Bottura is relaunching the restaurant where founder Enzo Ferrari once dined with friends and Formula One stars.<\/p>\n
Nicola Boari, Ferrari’s chief brand diversification officer, told Reuters the aim was to reach new clients “in terms of both age and culture” – beyond its racing fans and sports car clients who already covet its branded jackets, T-shirts and hats.<\/p>\n
The customer base for Ferrari’s cars is limited by design to under 10,000 vehicles a year – fewer clients than Bottura’s new restaurant could serve in the same time – and the luxury carmaker has said it hoped its so-called brand extension strategy would account for 10% of profits within a decade.<\/p>\n
Ferrari is far from the first luxury car brand to venture into lifestyle businesses.Others like Volkswagen’s Lamborghini and Bentley, as well as U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, have turned to clothing collections.<\/p>\n
Ferrari’s foray into haute cuisine too follows in the steps of luxury fashion groups, including France’s LVMH and Kering’s Gucci, which also turned to Bottura for its first restaurant in Florence and a second in Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n
“Ferrari is one of the strongest brands in the world and definitely the strongest brand in the luxury industry,” said Massimo Pizzo of Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy.<\/p>\n
“It has the potential to succeed even in the luxury apparel industry,” he said.<\/p>\n
LUXURY PROFITS<\/p>\n
Ferrari’s former chief executive Louis Camilleri unveiled the brand extension strategy, which includes fashion, restaurants and other luxury experiences, in 2019 just before the coronavirus pandemic struck and delayed the plans.<\/p>\n
The launch now comes days after the appointment of new Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna, mining cryptocurrency<\/a> power (see this site<\/a>) a 52-year-old physicist who has spent 26 years at semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics and is expected to drive Ferrari into the era of electric cars.<\/p>\n Camilleri said Ferrari’s brand spin-offs were too stretched and planned to cut about half of the carmaker’s licence agreements and trim some 30% of its product categories.<\/p>\n Perfumes have since disappeared from the shelves of Ferrari’s existing stores, for example, as have some low-end products with no real value beyond the logo.<\/p>\n Analysts said it would take time for Ferrari’s new brand strategy to succeed, while some were cautious about its potential contribution to profitability.<\/p>\n “Given the kind of scale you need to be profitable in luxury, I don’t think this will be accretive to Ferrari’s margins, which are quite high already,” said Susy Tibaldi, luxury analyst at Swiss bank UBS.<\/p>\n Last year, 11.3% of Ferrari’s net revenue came from its sponsorship, commercial and brand category – which includes the Formula One team and revenue generated by the brand through merchandising, licensing and ethereum what is gwei<\/a> royalties – down from 14.3% in 2019.<\/p>\n Ferrari’s direct rival Lamborghini offers several branded collections based on partnerships, including menswear, Getpaid2influence.com\/Crypto-Affiliates<\/a> kids wear and living, while Bentley’s brand extension strategy focuses on accessories and luxury furniture.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.turbosquid.com\/Preview\/001211\/477\/52\/3D-ready-model_600.jpg\")
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