Frette CEO’s Sees Sales Reaching 279M, Store Network Doubling

MILAN — It’s lunchtime at the bustling Portrait Milano hotel’s restaurant and Filippo Arnaboldi, chief executive officer of Frette, has just sat down to a lunch at a table set with linens that his company makes.

As he reaches for his napkin, he runs his finger over the embroidery in the shape of Portrait’s romantic logo and comments on the craftsmanship. The traditional Milanese dish of veal with tuna sauce (vitello tonnato) is served and as guests wipe their mouths, one can’t help but think of the royals of Europe, the Pope and Orient Express dining car patrons of yesteryear doing the same. From the tablecloth to the bed pillows, Frette doesn’t just want to be in hotels — the brands want to be in exclusive hospitality landmarks that guarantee a restful stay.

“I told them to use something personalized and as you can see how beautiful it came out. It doesn’t look like a logo,” he said of the Portrait Milano.

In a way, the Ferragamo family’s hospitality project Portrait Milano is the emblem of Frette’s new strategy by which the same products it made for the hotel can be found on the company’s website. The goal is that clients who stay at luxury hotels can purchase products in a special hotel boutique and or on an iPad from the comfort of their rooms. The in-hotel boutique concept has already been tested at Rome’s fabled Hotel de Russie and is something the brand will likely roll out worldwide.

Managing Through a Series of Takeovers

Arnaboldi has been quiet since Raza Heritage Holdings bought Frette from London-based private equity fund Change Capital Partners last year. Since joining the firm in 1999, this is the fourth private equity takeover he has seen.

This time it’s different, he said. Raza was a “club deal,” he said of investors that truly love Frette linens. Among them are billionaire Ding Shizhong, chairman of Anta Sportswear, one of China’s largest sportswear-makers. Shizhong made a personal investment via a private family investment vehicle. The consortium of private investors also includes Hong Kong businesswoman Adrienne Marie Ma, the former president of Joyce Boutique Group Ltd. Ma and Shizhong have a large network of contacts in Greater China and Hong Kong, exactly where Frette is looking to expand with directly operated stores.

“One of the shareholders was already a client and loved it and they said it was an optimal opportunity. Overall, the investors come from different retail realities and it’s not a typical private equity. It’s not a holding that has other brands,” he said.

In a way, Arnaboldi is a vestige of Frette’s past. He’s probably one of the only executives to have worked with Frette family members, with whom he is still friends. Frette, was founded in Brianza, Italy, in 1860. Arnaboldi also remembers a time when Frette had its own looms. Outsourcing production was a decision made by the first private equity firm to take over the company, but the silver lining is that now the firm works with a network of hundreds of artisans — micro businesses — all over Italy, which Arnaboldi said he has had the privilege to come to know. From the lace-makers of Puglia to the satin weavers of Como and embroiderers of Sardinia, it was an itinerant road of discovery, he said, noting that sheet sets, which retail for up to 3,800 euros on the website, take four weeks to make. “This is not fast fashion.”

Arnaboldi also has a fairly new team. Earlier this week, Frette hired fashion veteran Cristiano Quieti as its chief merchandising and marketing officer. The position is a newly created strategic one for Frette and is based in New York City, the company said. Other appointments are imminent.

A Quest for the Ultra Exclusive

Trips intended for scouting new partnerships and to far away places are the norm. The New York-based executive said he just got back from Singapore and China, where he scoped out new stores. A member of his PR team said she had just returned from Sindalah, an island off of Saudi Arabia, a tourist haven that is part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Arnaboldi himself enthused about the rarity of Le Logis in the heart of France’s Cognac region, and which is surrounded by 25 acres of vineyards and built in the fief of Frêsne, which was established around 1330.

From 2013 to 2019, Le Logis was owned by Bacardi Limited to serve as its Grey Goose house in honor of the label’s French roots. Bacardi undertook a complete renovation to modernize the property and add amenities such as a pool, cinema and (of course) an exceptional bar.

“It’s exquisite. Properties like these can be a conduit and where we can bring our clients and create an exclusive itinerary where Frette can be found,” he said, recalling a meeting at another hotel where Frette’s linens can be found. Arnaboldi was with the general manager of the Mark Hotel, which prides itself on its reputation as “New York’s most lavish hotel.”

“He called me 20 minutes later to tell me that he had a client that was asking about our washcloths because this particular client only uses linen for his mustache and washes with Evian water,” he said with a laugh.

In September, Frette made a splash at the Monaco Yacht Show where the brand name was emblazoned on a 43.59-meter motor yacht crafted by Palumbo Superyachts. The yacht, owned by one of its investors, showcased Frette’s highly anticipated bespoke collection under the M/Y Frette label, envisaged specifically for a yacht’s interior, providing an added layer of luxurious details to the vessel, and showcasing the essence of Frette’s bespoke artistry and knowledge. The concept was also on display via an installation at Hotel de Paris: a wall made of corals and rocks with an ocean-themed flora and fauna motif matched with the yellow, orange, pink and deep blue piping designed onto the plush beach towels and bathrobes.

Hotels, he said, are the key to reaching younger generations, who are wellness obsessed and are connected to the finer things in life through more frequent travel and social media. They also drove the business-to-consumer revenues for the company during the hard months of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to drive web sales.

“Young people are appreciating our product more and more and the best ambassadors, I have to say, are the hotels. Once our clientele was like 50 and today young people are way more focused on the comforts of home. Today there is more research, people are more interested…it’s like having a made-to-measure suit. It’s not like a 1,000 pre-count is better than 3,000. It’s a matter of taste and how you sleep,” he said, adding that focusing on wellness is a major theme on which the company is working. “The younger generations are obsessed with what they eat, why not how they sleep?”

Expansion, Expansion

Looking ahead, Frette will open two to three new locations in the next 12 months and in the next five years about 30, in addition to its current network of 32 stores worldwide — from Milan’s Via Manzoni to the tropical promenades of Manila and Bangkok. The retail experience, he said, will also be enhanced, thinking outside of the box. Frette boutiques, like the flagships in Milan and New York City, are already outfitted with a bespoke corner where hotels and private entities can make small or larger scale orders. Arnaboldi wants to go further than that. “Why not a cottage in the Hamptons?”

By 2029, Frette aims to reach 279 million euros in sales, targeting about 100 million euros from the hospitality business alone. In 2023, revenues were in line with 2022, at around 129 million. “We decided that 2024 and 2025 are dedicated to investments that will allow us to thrive in the top line.

Arnaboldi didn’t exclude venturing into other categories. A seed was planted in April when Frette collaborated with Thom Browne during Milan Design Week. The fashion designer staged a performance in Milan called “Time to Sleep,” held at Palazzina Appiani, a neoclassical building designed in 1805 within the Parco Sempione, once the official gallery for the family of Napoleon Bonaparte. “We want to continue this partnership with Thom Browne. Next year we will do a different collaboration in the home and interiors world. In the end Frette can furnish residences, villas, cottages. In the future, Frette can do more than just textiles.”