BRUNELLO CUCINELLI’S NEW INITIATIVE GIFTS UNSOLD MERCHANDISE TO THOSE IN NEED

Brunello Cucinelli is aiming to do something good with his unsold spring/summer 2020 goods instead of funneling the collection to off-price retailers.

What he aims to do with this project is to take unsold, now out-of-season merchandise and, rather than mark it down to generate some revenues or ship it off to a discounter, instead simply give it away.

Cucinelli’s new “Project in Support of Mankind” will gift unsold garments that are still in stores impacted by the lockdown. The production value of the goods amounts to 30 million euros — meaning much more than that at retail prices.

The company has noted that these donations will be made to humanitarian organizations throughout the globe through small gifts focused on community needs. All of the donated garments are new from the stores’ surplus and will have a new label sewed into them: “Brunello Cucinelli for Humanity.”

To make this happen, Cucinelli has set up a “Council in Support of Mankind” comprising 10 individuals — six from his family and four from the company. They will work with a network of partners and select those who will receive the garments in perfect condition and packaged as gifts, with letters from Cucinelli. The packages may contain 40 to 50 pieces and be sent to the organizations chosen two or three times a year.

“It seems to me that this project – that we all define as ‘intense’ – in some way raises the dignity of mankind and pays tribute to all those who have taken part in the manufacturing of these garments,” said Cucinelli. “It will go hand in hand with the other project started several years ago, which consists in repairing, recovering, and reusing all of our products. All this goes to fulfill the greatest ‘human sustainability’ project we have always believed in and that can be summed up as follows: ‘protecting the climate, reducing emissions, safeguarding the earth and wildlife, and taking care of human beings.’ It would be a real pleasure for me if this symbolic gesture was welcome as a sign of hope for a new and lasting time.”

As for fall 2020 deliveries, the company has said that they were postponed by about a month, responding to the need to align the collections to the seasons in stores.

And, Cucinelli proudly said the company has not let go of any of its 2,024 workers, of which 1,000 are at the company’s headquarters in Italy’s Solomeo. Cucinelli also believes the company’s plant in Solomeo could be expanded after 2022.