Italian fashion group OTB opens subsidiary in Mexico

OTB has stepped up a gear in Latin America. The Italian fashion group, owner of denim label Diesel and of luxury labels like Viktor & Rolf and Maison Margiela, has set up a subsidiary in Mexico in order to consolidate its presence 'in another major North American country, besides the USA and Canada,' as OTB stated in a press release.
In 2024, OTB created a corporate entity in the country's capital, Mexico City, the focus of its local operations and main investments. The newly created company's goal is to oversee the operations and direct retail expansion in Mexico of the Diesel, Jil Sander, Marni and Maison Margiela labels, including the latter's contemporary line, MM6.
OTB has also inked a partnership deal with luxury department store chain El Palacio de Hierro, a household name in Mexico, a group that is over a century old and owns 31 stores. OTB is keen to expand in states like 'Guadalajara, Monterrey, León, Cancún, Puebla and Querétaro, by opening monobrand stores and concessions.'
In Mexico, it's aiming to grow its online and offline retail footprint, and to intensify its marketing activity. The group is set to open approximately 50 new stores in the next five years, 15 of them scheduled in 2025.
In 2024, OTB generated revenue of €1.8 billion, down 5.2%. Its sales in Asia slumped, except for Japan, but they grew by 13.3% in North America. Establishing a corporate presence in Mexico is proof of OTB's desire to find new markets, while maintaining its momentum in regions where its performance is stronger. OTB has struck a joint-venture deal with the Chalhoub group in the Middle East, where it is already present, to step up the pace of its retail expansion in the region.
'Mexico is an influential creative and cultural country with its own distinctive style and vibrancy. Establishing a direct presence for our group in the region is a key step in the growth path of our brands, and in building a closer, more authentic connection with local customers and this amazing country,' said Rosso, founder and president of OTB.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Euronews

14 hours ago

• Euronews

Rome Jubilee year: A polished city, but where are the pilgrims?

Jubilee. A word that, despite its jovial ring, has sent shivers down the spine of any Roman for whom it became a shorthand for unaffordable rent, skyrocketing inflation, innumerable roadworks and hordes of pilgrims adding to the Eternal City's already unmanageable tourist throngs. The Catholic Church's Jubilee — a year-long religious observation held from late 2024 to 2025 and every quarter of a century in the Italian capital — triggered an ambitious series of public beautification plans, spearheaded by Rome's social media-savvy mayor, Roberto Gualtieri. It also came with the promise of over 30 million pilgrims descending upon the city. Landlords and businesses had high hopes, especially following the pandemic downturn, but it became notoriously unpopular among renters, students and young professionals who feared a worsening cost-of-living crisis in a city (and country) known for salary stagnation and meagre employment opportunities. Midway into the Jubilee celebrations, Rome looks pristine. Its roads and buildings have been renovated, and the visitor numbers seem strong. But did it bring the heralded and feared Jubilee holiday rental boom? Or has it turned into a bust? The stats seem to show a rather underwhelming picture. The Jubilee: What's the hype? Every 25 years (bar additional 'extraordinary' occasions), the Jubilee is held by the Roman Catholic Church as a period of forgiveness. Pilgrims visit Rome, the centre of Catholicism, as part of a spiritual journey towards plenary indulgence, or the full remission of sins. They pass through the Holy Doors of the city's four papal basilicas, which are only open in Jubilee years. Recent Jubilees have typically been associated with a burst in Rome's tourist economy and major public improvement works. Especially the 2000 Jubilee, which resulted in many of the city's soot-covered landmarks being restored to their former glory. The 2025 Jubilee has been no exception, as many of Rome's most iconic monuments - from the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona to the Spanish Steps and the bridge of Castel Sant'Angelo - were given a facelift. But the latest Jubilee was presented with an unprecedented issue: the Airbnb and holiday rental industry, which has already been blamed for suffocating the renting market and contributing to a worsening housing crisis. As debates on overtourism and its impact became a hot-button issue in Europe following the 2020s post-pandemic boom, many Romans were concerned about the impact the Jubilee would have, especially as the hype surrounding it led to soaring inflation starting as early as 2023. Giulio, a 32-year-old doctor, was one such individual who struggled to find a place to live after leaving his flat in February this year. He eventually had to relocate to a distant neighbourhood. 'I searched desperately for a [house to] rent that was not exorbitantly priced,' Giulio tells Euronews Travel. 'But I discovered that the neighbourhood in which I work – near St Peter's – has become practically inaccessible to renters, since everything has been used for holiday rentals.' 'The renting situation is truly tragic,' he says. 'No difference from usual' Reports leading up to 2025 suggested around 30 to 35 million pilgrims would flock to Rome, adding to a total of around 105 million visitors. That would be an unprecedented number for the Italian capital, even surpassing the new millennium Jubilee 25 years ago. But early statistics from this year suggest the numbers may not be quite as encouraging, as reports show only a few million pilgrims have come to the city since the start of the year. The death of Pope Francis and the election of a new Pope, Leo XIV, back in April-May may have provided a boost, but the pulse on the ground has not suggested any dramatic upsurge in tourist arrivals. A quick conversation with local retailers, restaurateurs, taxi drivers and others in the hospitality sector is all it takes to pick up on the rather underwhelming fruits of the Jubilee's labours. Federico Ndoj, who runs a well-known English-speaking hair salon near the Spanish Steps, with an exclusive array of international clients including American actress Jane Fonda, is among the local business owners disillusioned by the Jubilee's grand promises. 'The peak tourist season is upon us, so there are a lot of people coming,' he tells Euronews Travel. 'But nothing more than usual.' 'I think this whole Jubilee thing was hyped up to make money,' he adds. 'An underwhelming start', but can things pick up? One of Italy's biggest estate agencies, Tecnocasa, is one of the many that have reported an underwhelming start to 2025, citing an 8-10 per cent drop in holiday rentals in the first quarter of the year. 'An oversupply of properties intended for tourism means not all have been rented out, and some owners are now considering switching back to residential leases or selling,' Fabiana Megliola said in an official statement released by Tecnocasa. Raffaele de Paola, a Roman real estate entrepreneur affiliated with Tecnocasa, confirmed the letdown of early Jubilee results, blaming two things: the wanton optimism of landlords and the accommodation preferences of pilgrims themselves. 'We entered 2025 with rosy projections,' he remarks. 'But after the first six months, things haven't gone as hoped.' 'The problem is many [landlords] were hoping to strike gold with short-term rentals,' he adds. 'But as with all things, if you don't dedicate yourself and commit, things don't work, as they take time and effort. Many who rented out their homes or even bought property as an investment are now deciding to return to the long-term rental models.' De Paola says, 'Pilgrims didn't go to Airbnbs, they went to convents or even hotels outside the city. And many tourists, after hearing about the Jubilee, decided not to come.' But his forecasts aren't entirely negative - he claims the summer trends are boding well for a successful end to the year. '[Holiday rentals] are recovering in this second semester,' he claims. 'Things have been a success, especially since the election of the new Pope.' With an office near St Peter's, de Paola says he can predict the strength of any given tourist season merely by looking at the queue outside the Vatican Museums. At times, it's so long it extends beyond his building, 400m away from the museum entrance. 'Things are going well now,' he stated. 'We are on course for a strong end of the year.' 'A disaster - and the end of the Airbnb trend' Rosanna De Bonis, the head of SoloAffitti, one of Italy's top rental agencies, paints a less optimistic picture for holiday rentals - and notes how the Jubilee could shake up the renting market. 'The results have been a disaster,' she tells Euronews Travel. De Bonis paints a picture of desperate landlords dealing with countless cancellations, forced to drop their daily rates and backtracking to residential leases. 'The Jubilee sold false hopes,' she says. 'People thought they were landing the bargain of a lifetime, but they pinned their hopes on pilgrims who never came. I even had clients in the city centre who had to cut their rates to €100 a night.' 'At the end of the day, long-term rentals provide a kind of stability holiday rentals do not,' she added. More crucially, De Bonis believes that the disappointing results of the Jubilee could herald the beginning of the end of the renting market's growing turn to Airbnbs, pulling the breaks on a worldwide trend which has been accused of turning cities into tourist playgrounds. 'The holiday rental trend has reached its peak,' she states. 'Romans get bored quickly - either they see immediate results, or nothing,' she added. 'And now that the results aren't there, more and more landlords want to return back to the former residential model.'

France 24

a day ago

• France 24

Kiwi sailing legend Burling joins Italy's America's Cup team

The 34-year-old New Zealander's "exact role has yet to be defined" for the Italian team as they prepare for the 2027 edition of the quadrennial yachting showpiece in Naples. There are obstacles to Burling -- who skippered New Zealand to victory over Luna Rossa in 2021 -- being on the boat itself. Under the provisional protocols for the 2027 regatta, as set out by the champions in May, no sailor can compete if they were part of a different team in the previous one. Burling, who was pivotal to New Zealand's three successive wins (2017/21/24) skippering them in the last two, became a free agent in April when he was unable to reach an agreement with Team New Zealand. "I've always loved racing against Luna Rossa and now to join this iconic team is a real honour," he said in a statement on the Luna Rossa website. "The innovation and competitiveness they bring to the Cup has always inspired me. "I'm looking forward to working hard alongside a world-class team, doing my part to help win Luna Rossa's first America's Cup." Max Sirena, CEO of Luna Rossa, said he and the team were "thrilled" to have secured his services. "Peter has been a long-time rival, and over the years we've come to deeply respect both his exceptional sailing talent and his sportsmanship on the racecourse," said Sirena. "Even though his exact role has yet to be defined, he will certainly be part of the sailing team, reinforcing Luna Rossa's core leadership group and contributing to key areas of our development program." Burling's split from Team New Zealand came, the latter said in April, because of the changing shape of the contest which is now to be contested in more regular cycles, meaning different requirements from team members. The three-time Olympic medallist's America's Cup record is astonishing. Burling was just 26 when he became the youngest-ever helmsman to win the America's Cup as challengers New Zealand beat Oracle Team USA 7-1 in Bermuda. In the 2021 victory over Luna Rossa, he became, at 30, the youngest skipper to win the event. He followed that up by skippering them to a 7-2 win over Ben Ainslie's British challengers, INEOS Britannia in Barcelona last year.

Fashion Network

2 days ago

• Fashion Network

Bulgari to open luxury island resort in Abu Dhabi by 2030

Signature experiences at the resort will include Bulgari's Il Caffè, the Bulgari Dolci boutique known for artisanal Italian confections, and La Galleria, a concept store featuring curated pieces by local and international designers. A 2,000-square-metre Bulgari Spa will offer a 25-metre indoor pool, a 1,000-square-metre fitness centre, and an outdoor deck with sea views. Dining will include Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, helmed by the Michelin-starred chef, along with the exclusive Japanese concept Hōseki, a refined Turkish restaurant, La Spiaggia beachfront dining, and the iconic Bulgari Bar. The resort will also be home to a Yacht Club with a private beach, 40-berth marina, and exclusive membership offerings. A grand ballroom on the city-facing side will provide a dedicated venue for events and banqueting. The residential component will feature 90 private mansions ranging from 1,650 to 2,500 square metres, with eight exclusive estates each offering their own private beach. The development's architecture and design will be curated by Milanese firm ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, with the landscape, designed by fellow Milanese studio Land SRL. The project is being developed in partnership with Eagle Hills, an Abu Dhabi-based private real estate company founded by Mohamed Alabbar. "With Bulgari Resort & Mansions Abu Dhabi, we continue our jeweller of hospitality magnificent journey of bringing Bulgari's distinctive elegance and craftsmanship to the world's most remarkable destinations,' said Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari. 'This project is a tribute to Abu Dhabi's unique cultural identity, blending timeless sophistication with modern luxury. This project will set a new milestone in Haute Hospitality and I'm particularly happy to develop it with our long-standing Retail Partner and friend Mohamed Alabbar always striving for the highest standards."