Gruppo Florence has added a denim manufacturer and processor—a first for the group—to its now 21-company stable.
The Italian manufacturing conglomerate, which services more than 50 global luxury labels, has acquired Ideal Blue Manifatture for an undisclosed sum. Located in Italy’s Marche region, Ideal Blue produces jeanswear for top fashion names, employs 140 people and recorded more than 26 million euros ($27 million under the current exchange rate) in revenues in 2021. It expects to earn 30 million ($31 million) euros this year and its compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2021 averaged 10 percent.
In 1976 Piero Moretti and his wife Teresa Stocchi founded the denim specialist, which is now run by their children Sara, Marco and Silvia Moretti who is CEO. From prototyping to modeling, its production process is entirely in-house, and its strengths include creating laser effects, embroidery, digital printing, finishing and washing.
Sustainability is another strong focus. Its entire supply chain is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified and it adheres to the ISO 14001: 2015 standard for digital printing and packaging of clothing items.
Attila Kiss, CEO of the Florence Group, said, “Ideal Blue perfectly reflects the values promoted by the Florence Group, a common vision based on artisan know-how and a deep-rooted industrial ethics.”
“At the beginning we didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of the group because each of the companies that make it up could very well have gone on alone,” added Silvia Moretti. “But when we understood the power of the synergy that has already been created between the families of entrepreneurs present, who have set up excellent companies that they care for enormously, we understood that joining the Florence Group is an important opportunity for sharing of our know-how, all oriented to wanting to better serve our customers.”
Group Florence was founded by investment funds VAM Investments, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento and Italmobiliare, who own a combined 65 percent stake in it. The remaining 35 percent is owned by the families of the Made in Italy companies under its umbrella. These include Taccetti, Maglificio Leonello Spagnol, Maglificio Erika, Lorenza Shoe Factory, Shoe Factory Novarese, Officina Ciemmeci, Facopel, Luciano Barbetta, CAM packages, Packaging Elledue, Frediani, Parmamoda, Pigolotti, Metaphor, Antica Valserchio, Emmegi and Manifatture Cesari, all of which joined the three founding companies of Giuntini, Ciemmeci and Mely’s knitwear after the group was born in Oct. 2020.
The group has an annual revenue of more than 500 million euros ($520 million), employs more than 2,200 people and operates across 12 regions of Italy.