The financial markets reacted quite seriously when Safilo announced the loss of its Armani license. Not that strange considering the 200 million euro yearly turnover involved. No reason to expect the same kind of excitement now that the company announced the loss of the Balenciaga license. The Italian manufacturer immediately published that sales of Balenciaga eyewear totaled only 3 million in 2011. In fact Safilo seems happy to terminate the cooperation which fits into its new strategy, with HAL in the background and Robert Polet as CEO, to create a more commercial successful company which is glad to leave the prestigious names to others. At the same time Marcolin announced to negotiate with Balenciaga, expecting to close the deal soon. In fact a brand like Balenciaga fits much better into the strategy and portfolio of Marcolin which certainly expects to be able to drive sales of this exclusive label to a higher level.
