Safilo boss intends to renew brand licences

Responding to rumours that Safilo may lose the rest of its Gucci licences after Luxottica Group won the licence for Stella McCartney branded sunglasses, Safilo's CEO Claudio Gottardi said the company's links to Gucci were solid and it would keep the licences.

'The Safilo partnership with Gucci will last another 15 years. The links are very solid,' Gottardi said in an interview published in Italian periodical Borsa & Finanza on April 26.

It is understood that the Gucci licences - which include Gucci, YSL, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga - are due to expire in 2010. Gottardi said: 'We will push in the short term for the renewal of the strategic licences, even if they are not yet expiring, while we are not interested in pursuing partnerships with brands with low returns in terms of sales.'