MILAN — Pal Zileri’s production arm Forall Confezioni SpA’s second chance could be the lucky one.
According to a statement issued by the Veneto region, the interest expressed by fellow manufacturing company J6 to take over Forall’s production site in Quinto Vicentino, outside the Italian town of Vicenza, and its workforce has remained unchanged.
“There is full agreement by the parties geared at safeguarding the production continuity of the site,” the statement read.
The appearance of a white knight in J6 — founded and helmed by Nicola Ferraretto and producing tailored clothing for a roster of brands — dates to last June, as reported.
Negotiations should come to completion by June 30 in order to ensure continuity. The industrial partnership would not entail the acquisition of the Pal Zileri brand, which is and will remain controlled by the Qatar-based fund Mayhoola, owner of Valentino and Balmain.
If the acquisition does go through, Forall Confezioni SpA would become a supplier to the brand.
Mayhoola first took a 65 percent stake in Forall in 2014. Two years later, the fund bought the remaining 35 percent of the firm from Arafa Holding, representing its commitment to expand Pal Zileri over the long term.
As reported, at the end of December 2020 Forall informed trade unions that it planned to cease the operations of its manufacturing plant in Quinto Vicentino, which at the time meant laying off 250 employees at the plant. That number was believed to reach 400, including employees in offices and sales assistants in stores around the world.
The emergence of J6 allowed the crisis management table established by the northeast Italian region with the company’s management team — led by chief restructuring officer and board member Massimiliano Tintinelli, trade unions and representatives of the white knight company — to bide time while extending the state’s extraordinary wage fund, or CIGS, for another 12 months until June this year.
It is understood that around 23 employees were already reallocated via training programs in the 10 months since, while the future of the current 90 workers depends on the outcome of negotiations between Forall and J6.
Sources said that J6’s industrial plan would entail employing 70 people, with the remaining 20 to be reallocated or offered retirement plans.
“The ongoing conversation gives us hope that the journey towards the restructuring and re-industrialization of the production site is steady and in sync with the agreement reached between involved parties,” said Elena Donazzan, council member of the Veneto region with responsibility for labor.
Sonia Paoloni, national secretary of the Filctem Cgil union, touted the most recent developments, dubbing them as a sign that “fighting for good negotiations pays back.”
“The dispute passed through the announcement of the plant closure potentially leading to 400 jobs being lost to the safeguard of all of them through ordinary and extraordinary wage support measures first and then the reallocation of employees to other companies via training programs,” she said.
“Finally, the acquisition of the production site and takeover of its employees by the [J6] company, which will keep the workforce in the Vicenza territory and relaunch the Pal Zileri brand as an important pillar of Made in Italy fashion” is a good sign, she added.
Tailoring has been returning front and center in menswear, offering hope for the Pal Zileri brand, whose collections, sources say, will continue to be produced in Quinto Vicentino under the new owner of the plant. According to media reports, the plant could open to third-party manufacturing activities at a later date.