SPONSORED PROFILE: SIMPLY GREAT ITALIAN SHIRTS

As a luxury retailer, you are probably sold on quality and artistry, which is the hallmark of fine Italian vendors, but maybe not so much on your vendors’ on-time delivery, customer service and their increasing commitment to their own stores and e-commerce sites. The largest brand name Italian vendors have turned into your competitors, and it’s becoming apparent that their interest is in ensuring that customers are loyal to them, but not necessarily to you.

Recently, a well-regarded Italian company has entered the U.S. market and is rapidly gaining a strong following in the luxury business for good reasons. Gruppo Mattei, a subsidiary of Italy’s Giemme Brandscorporate SpA, is bringing the highest quality 100 percent Italian shirts and sportswear to market. They are an incredibly reliable and substantial resource, delivering a unique and well-targeted product to your customers, and they are building strong relationships with a great number of top American and Canadian retailers.

Gruppo Mattei currently has two very different brands:

Caliban – A luxury dress shirt brand, offering three pleasing fits, a complete in-stock program, five-day delivery direct from Italy, exclusivity and generous markup to a limited group of top-tier retailers across the country. New for this season is a made-to-measure program, using either the Caliban label or your private brand, with 3-4 week delivery on a dedicated selection of more than 250 fabrics, 12 collars and personalized details.

Tintoria Mattei 954 – Gruppo Mattei’s more fashion forward dress/sport shirt brand features exquisite designs, with sartorial details and exclusive fabrics from mills including Albini, Monte, Canclini and Liberty London, as well as cobranding projects. Tintoria Mattei shirts are worn by “quintessential men” and are soft, comfortable and clearly worth the $200-$300 price you can get for them.

According to JB Dunn at J3 Clothing in Moreland Hills, OH: “Tintoria Mattei is a beautiful product that fits a hole in our mix for a guy that wants a more modern, washed, luxury Italian shirt. Sara Marchiori and Michela Petrali are delightful to work with and our sell-throughs have averaged 70-80 percent, prior to our sale times.”

The shirts you buy from Gruppo Mattei are definitely artisanal in character, but don’t be fooled into thinking they are artisanal in size or stature. Their parent company, Giemme Brandscorporate SpA, has been a well-known resource for retailers in Italy and Europe for more than 60 years, with an established reputation for quality, style and service, and a production capacity of over 5,000 shirts each day.

According to Gruppo Mattei president, Michela Petrali, the company strives to establish “significant” relationships with a small number of great retailers in North America committed to selling exclusive products to consumers who understand and appreciate their quality, and will wear their shirts proudly. The Group has showrooms in Milan and New York.

Look for Gruppo Mattei at booth 2923 in the Vanguards Gallery neighborhood of MRket New York.