Johnny Lambs is back

The Johnny Lambs brand, created in 1978 from an idea of Giorgio Tocchi's (inventor of 'casual Friday'), who provocatively translated the name of his friend, Gianni Agnelli, into English, is back in grand style with the launch due to begin in Lombardy.

At the end of 2002, the brand passed from the Fin.Part holding to a group of entrepreneurs in the north-east headed by Brescia's Federico Bani, who yesterday met the president of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, to whom he and Tocchi presented the project. 'Because I've seen it in many of our entrepreneurs', Formigoni said, 'I fully understand how much commitment and entrepreneurial expertise are needed to start up an operation like this, and one that still has some unknown factors. It is the type of challenge I hope our friends from Brescia will win; they have perceived the launch of a brand in a market sector that is not having an easy time.'

For the spring-summer 2004 collection the brand has already finalized distribution agreements with 150 outlets throughout Italy, it has been granted the licenses for Austria, Spain and Portugal, and contacts with distributors in the United States are at an advanced stage.

Bani explained that the aim is to reposition it on the Italian market in the middle-upper range of the men's sportswear segment. The clothing line will soon be joined by the launch of leather goods and eyewear, for which licensing agreements with two Italian producers are already in place, making it an entirely Made in Italy production.

'With the hope of repeating the success of the Eighties, the cross-section target for the new Johnny Lambs line includes consumers in the twenty to fifty age group', explained Tocchi. The future could also see lines for women and children.

(Source: Ansa)