MILAN – Former Ferragamo chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti is joining the board of Italian fashion group Aeffe.
Publicly listed in Milan, the group comprises the Alberta Ferretti, Moschino and Pollini brands.
“In a phase of necessary strategic realignment of the brands that have recently seen the appointment of Lorenzo Serafini at Alberta Ferretti and of Adrian Appiolaza at Moschino, and of the group’s transition in a moment that is so complex at the international level, I am happy to have Marco by my side,” said Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of Aeffe.
Gobbetti “will certainly contribute in an important and significant way in the definition of strategies to relaunch our brands, as well as the implementation of new strategic partnerships for the group,” he added.
Gobbetti has been tasked with supporting Ferretti and Aeffe CEO Simone Badioli in “elaborating growth strategies and strengthening the group and its brands, also through strategic partnerships if the opportunities arise,” said the group.
Ferretti, who is designer Alberta’s brother, is said to be seeking a financial investor. The siblings last summer split their personal properties and shares in the company, a total of almost 62 percent, channeling them into their own respective holdings. Aeffe said at the time this would not impact the governance of the company, but sources say this would make a sale easier.
Aeffe is expected to report first-half results later today. While the group was back in the black last year thanks to the sale of Moschino‘s beauty business in September, the slowdown in the luxury industry and challenges in its wholesale and retail distribution impacted the group’s top and bottom lines in the first quarter.
As reported, in the three months ended March 31, Aeffe recorded a net loss of 10.1 million euros, compared to a loss of 5.6 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Consolidated revenues totaled 61.7 million euros, decreasing 23.2 percent year-over-year.
Gobbetti succeeds Roberto Lugano, who stepped down to allow him to immediately join the board without having to wait for the approval of the 2025 financial report. Gobbetti is expected to stay on until 2028.
This is a return to the group for Gobbetti, who served as Moschino’s chief executive officer from 1993 to 2004.
“I am happy to collaborate again with the Ferretti family and to take on this role in a strong Italian company with globally famous brands and recognized for the quality of its products and for the reliability in leading its activities, aware of the great challenges the industry is facing,” said Gobbetti. He does not currently own Aeffe shares.
The executive had joined Ferragamo in January 2022 from Burberry, succeeding Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi, and exited the Florence-based company in March. He had been Burberry’s CEO since July 2017.
After Moschino, Gobbetti spent 13 years at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, where he was CEO of Givenchy, working with Riccardo Tisci. He later decamped to Celine, where he worked with Phoebe Philo.
Moschino and Alberta Ferretti have been going through changes. The former named Appiolaza creative director in January 2024 and Aeffe made extraordinary strategic investments for a total of 90 million euros relating to taking full control of Moschino in 2021 through the purchase of the 30 percent stake it did not already own and the change of distribution in China for the Moschino brand.
In September, after unveiling her spring 2025 collection, Alberta Ferretti revealed she was exiting the namesake brand she launched in 1981. A month later, Aeffe promoted Serafini to succeed Ferretti at the helm of the brand and his first collection was presented in February.
He joined the group in 2014 to design the Philosophy label, which is being integrated into the Alberta Ferretti line from the fall 2025 season.
