3 September 1998: Rosenthal, part of Irish crystal and fine china group Waterford Wedgwood Plc, said recently that it had signed a licence agreement with the famous Italian firm Bulgari, the world“s …
3 September 1998: Rosenthal, part of Irish crystal and fine china group Waterford Wedgwood Plc, said recently that it had signed a licence agreement with the famous Italian firm Bulgari, the world“s third largest jeweller. Rosenthal said in a statement that Bulgari signed a six-year exclusive licence agreement with Rosenthal to design, produce and market new table and giftware ranges worldwide under the Bulgari trademark. “We are very excited about the cooperation with Bulgari because we are coming even closer to our goal of internationalisation,” Rosenthal chief executive Ottmar Kusel said. Kusel added that both companies produce luxury articles for demanding and exclusive tastes, complementing each other very well. “This is certain to be a successful partnership,” he said. Rosenthal said the Bulgari table and giftware collections would be positioned up-market and would be distributed internationally through the Bulgari stores and about 1,000 specialized retailers, including Rosenthal StudioHaus stores. The first collection, including porcelain plates, porcelain gifts, silver cutlery and crystalware, will be launched at the beginning of next year, said the company. Mr. Francesco Trapani, Bulgari“s chief executive officer, said that when the first tableware collection is launched, Bulgari will have completed the diversification process started in 1993 when it entered the perfume sector, followed by silk neckwear, eyewear and leather goods. Bulgari was founded in 1884 and unlike many other luxury goods manufacturers, all its products are designed in-house with the exception of eyewear and now the Rosenthal products. It plans to open 10 stores per annum, bringing the total to 100 by the year 2,000. Sales in the first six months rose by an effective 24% to US$ 122 million. Sales increased in all geographical areas. Its main product areas are watches, accounting for 45% of sales, and jewellery (38%). The main target customers, according to industry sources, are business and professional people with salaries of more than US$ 100,000. The sources said the company also deliberately targets the top 1,000 billionaires in the world. Mr. Trapani, the 41-year old nephew of the company“s main shareholders – brothers Paolo and Nicola Bulgari – decided in 1992 to follow Cartier and Tiffany into luxury goods. It gained a public flotation in 1995. One of the diversifications was the launch of scents like Bulgari pour Homme, priced at US$ 390 for 50 ml. Its recent launch was a new perfume called Black. Rosenthal already has a licence agreement with Versace, the Italian fashion house whose head, Gianni, was murdered in Miami last year. Versace is now run by his brother Santo and sister Donatella.