MISTER CALZEDONIA AND DOLCE & GABBANA. MADE IN ITALY STILL CREATES BILLIONAIRES
The economy of the Bel Paese is struggling in the recession, but the made in Italy continues to enjoy excellent health. This is confirmed, among other things, by the performance of Salvatore Ferragamo (+79,48% in the last 12 months) or that of Prada, which has doubled since the day of listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. But the new billionaires, according to the Bloomberg survey, must be sought outside the precincts of stock lists.
Three Italian entrepreneurs enter the Bloomberg ranking dedicated to nine zero assets: the stylists Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, owners of Dolce& Gabbana srl and, less known to non-experts, Sandro Veronesi, 53, owner of Calzedonia, Intimissimi and Tezenis.
The value of Dolce&Gabbana was estimated by Bloomberg at around 5,3 billion dollars by applying the multiples of Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss to the company (1,1 billion in 2011 turnover). The result is the result of a comparison of enterprise value (capitalization plus debt minus cash), ebitda and price/earnings ratio.
The assets of Dolce, who owns 41,8% of the company, are thus estimated at 2,2 billion dollars; more "poor" (so to speak) the president Stefano Gabbana who, thanks to 40%, is worth 2,1 billion. The rest of the capital is controlled by Dolce's brothers, Alfonso and Dorotea.
Sandro Veronesi controls 85% of Calzedonia, the empire founded in 1986 which today distributes its products (underwear, swimwear, socks) in 3.200 directly controlled or franchised stores. The group also includes the brands Intimissimi (year 1996) and Tezenis (2003), focused on younger consumers. In 2009 the Falconeri brand also entered the stable.
According to Bloomberg, Veronesi's empire is worth 1,9 billion dollars. The estimate is based on a comparison with the enterprise value and the price/earnings ratio of Columbus, controlling shareholder of Victoria's Secret, and of La Senza, another listed company in the sector. In an interview with Moda 24 Veronesi said that the next goal is the expansion of Calzedonia in Northern Europe and in the Middle East before the big leap in Asia and the USA. Without mentioning a possible (but very unlikely) landing on the stock market.
