Fashion Houses Review

Italy · Fashion business

How Buccellati expanded from a Milan shop before joining Richemont

Buccellati opened its first Milan shop in 1919 and reached New York in 1951. The house used boutiques and a distribution agreement to enter more markets before Richemont bought its holding company in 2019.

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Fashion Houses Review Editorial Team

Jewellery retail historyBuccellati’s store openings and ownership milestones
  1. 1919
    First Milan shop

    Mario Buccellati took over a jewellery business and opened his first store on Via Santa Margherita. Source 1

  2. 1925
    Rome shop

    Mario and Carlo Buccellati opened a second shop on Via Condotti. Source 1

  3. 1929
    Florence shop

    The family opened a store on Via Tornabuoni. Source 1

  4. 1951
    New York opening

    Mario entrusted Luca with the U.S. business. The first store opened on 51st Street. Source 1

  5. 1956
    Palm Beach opening

    The business added a seasonal store on Worth Avenue. Source 1

  6. 1971
    Cala di Volpe boutique

    Gianmaria Buccellati opened a boutique in the Sardinian hotel. Source 1

Show 5 more dates
  1. 1972
    Japanese distribution agreement

    Gianmaria signed an exclusive agreement with the Ginza-based company WAKO for Japan. Source 1

  2. 1979
    Paris boutique

    The house opened a boutique on Place Vendôme. Source 1

  3. 2013
    Chicago boutique

    The shop used a new store design conceived by Andrea Buccellati. Source 1

  4. 2017
    First shop in China

    Buccellati opened at Plaza 66 in Shanghai during its expansion with Gangtai. Source 1

  5. 26 September 2019
    Richemont transaction closed

    Richemont acquired 100% of Buccellati Holding Italia in a private transaction with Gangtai. Source 2

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Source 1 Source 2

The first expansion was within Italy

Rome followed Milan in 1925, and Florence followed in 1929. The house’s chronology attributes the early shops to different members of the Buccellati family. That retail sequence preceded its first shop in the United States. Source 1

Overseas entry took more than one form

The 1951 New York shop gave Buccellati its own retail presence. The 1972 WAKO agreement set up exclusive distribution in Japan. The Paris opening in 1979 added another boutique. Each step used a distinct way to reach customers. Source 1

China retail expansion predated the Richemont purchase

The company dates its first Chinese shop to 2017 in Shanghai. It identifies Gangtai as its investor at the time. Richemont then bought the Italian holding company from Gangtai in a separate transaction that closed in September 2019. Source 1 Source 2

The 2019 announcement separated sales and production footprints

Richemont said the house made jewellery in four in-house workshops in Italy at the time of the acquisition. The store timeline covers markets where the house sold. The workshop count records where it made jewellery at that point in time. Source 2

Sources

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