Renzo Rosso restructures OTB group to align with ambitions in fashion and luxury

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Mar 5, 2013

Changes are being made at the heart of Only The Brave, the holding company that owns Diesel, Maison Martin Margiela, Viktor&Rolf and Marni as well as Staff International which produces and distributes products under license for DSquared2, Just Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Marc Jacobs Homme. Since taking over Marni in December, Renzo Rosso has made his ambitions very clear: to create a modern group that is an alternative to the luxury groups that exist”.

It is now the transformation is really starting to take shape. Step one: change the name of the group to OTB and make the transition to a joint-stock company. “Only The Brave was a name very much linked with the brand Diesel. OTB is more neutral. The change stems from the need for an image that is coherent with the future of the group,” explains a contact at the company. The company’s shareholders have raised capital from 10 to 25 million euros in an effort to give the company more power and allow it to become more operational.

The company’s head office, situated in Venice, makes it very clear that Renzo Rosso is not looking to take the company to the Stock Exchange. Instead, the Rosso family has reinforced its presence in the group’s management. Renzo Rosso is president and owns 90% of OTB, while his two sons Andrea and Stefano each own 5% (over which Renzo Rosso retains 4.5% usufructuary rights). Stefano Rosso (aged 33) was recently named co-CEO of the group, alongside Marina Tosin, who has been heading the group for several years. Tosin will continue to oversee the company’s strategic planning, finance, administration, legal issues and communication. Stefano Rosso will look after personnel and ‘internal auditing’ meaning he will be oversee the corporate governance of the company.

Stefano Rosso studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. He then went on to work for streetwear brand Zoo York by Marc Ecko. From there, he returned to Italy to work for the family company, paying his dues at various divisions of Diesel, from production to distribution and marketing. He was then named brand manager of the Denim division, before continuing to work with the company’s co-branding. In July 2011, he was hired at OTB as director of corporate development, providing support to his father on strategic decision-making.

Andrea, Renzo’s eldest son, works more with creative side of the group. After founding streetwear brand 55DSL, he took over artistic direction of Diesel’s licensed products (perfumes, watches and homewares etc.).

For 2012, OTB is looking to reach just under 1.5 billion in revenue, 14% of which comes from activity in Italy, equating to a 10% increase on 2010.