The partnership had to come sooner or later. Two leading figures in the world of eyewear and both linked to Turin and the planet Juve, namely the Juventus footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with his CR7 brand and Lapo Elkann, founder and creative director of Italia Independent, combine the strength of their brands and of their image. Italia Independent and CR7 have in fact signed an exclusive agreement, on a global scale and for a duration of 5 years, for the creation of eyewear collections under the CR7 brand. The first CR7 Eyewear collection was entirely inspired and designed for Cristiano Ronaldo and will be unveiled as a world preview at Mido 2020. The collection will be available on the market in the best opticians in the world and on the best e-commerce platforms starting from Spring/Summer 2020.
“Today for me and for all of Italia Independent – commented Lapo Elkann – it is a day to remember: having obtained the CR7 eyewear license is an extraordinarily important step in our growth path. Creativity, speed of execution and a look towards the future are our ingredients, a recipe that has led us to become a reality capable of attracting globally recognized brands. Just like CR7: before being a football legend with over 700 goals scored, five Champions Leagues raised to the sky and five Ballon d'Ors put on the bulletin board, Cristiano is above all an exceptional man. And the fact that I can work with him is something that fills my heart with pride and happiness. I can't wait to start this project together, confident that both sides will work with enormous passion and perseverance, values that Cristiano embodies more than anyone else. I hope and am convinced that together with Cristiano and his team, rich in professionalism of excellence, we will develop other exciting projects together ”.
“Having a brand in our portfolio – added Marco Cordeddu, CEO of Italia Independent – which bears the name of one of the strongest champions of all time it is a great honor for Italia Independent, a huge certificate of trust but at the same time a great challenge which, I am sure, we will be able to win, allowing Italia Independent to gain the results and global market positions it deserves. Thanks to this agreement, we will also be able to further develop our distribution channels in the major world markets by leveraging both traditional networks and the enormous potential of the digital market, also considering the strength of the fan base that Cristiano boasts all over the world".
A comment also came from the Juventus ace himself, Cristiano Ronaldo: “I am I've always been passionate about eyewear and I've always wanted to have my own line. I'm really excited to collaborate with Italia Independent on this project. I am very detail oriented and have always worked hard to achieve perfection in everything I do. We've worked together over the last year on the design and creative process and it's amazing how we shared the same attitude and attention to detail. I can't wait for everyone to see the collection!”.
At Piazza Affari, the Italia Independent stock failed to enter trading, remaining suspended due to an excess of upside with a theoretical gain of 50%.
