New blow for Chiara Ferragni: Fenice Retail Srla company entirely controlled by Fenice Srl and an integral part of the entrepreneurial universe of the influencer, has been officially put in liquidation.
The decision, formalized at the end of May, is due to the negative results in the two-year period 2023-2024 during which the company’s retail branch burned beyond 1.2 million eurosin the face of total revenues of 644,000 euros and costs that exceeded 2 million.
Chiara Ferragni’s shops closed
The retail branch managed i physical shops on the Ferragni brand, including the one in via del Babuino a Romeclosed at the same time as the announcement of the liquidation, and the one previously abandoned a Milan In via Capelli, in one of the lounges of the city between Corso Como and Piazza Gae Aulenti.
The liquidation of Fenice Retail is not only the result of deep red accounts, but also the epilogue of a clash inside the group leader Fenice srl. During the last annual assembly, the sole director Claudio Calabi He faced a harsh opposition from the minority partner, the entrepreneur Pasquale Morgese (owner of 0.2% of the shares, against 99.8% of the same Ferragni itself).
Last March, during the discussion on the annual accounts of the Phoenix, Morgese’s lawyer had openly criticized the management of the subsidiary, denouncing the “lack of documents” available to the members, and in particular the absence of the Fenice Retail budget. In the absence of clear documents, he added another representative of the entrepreneur, “the members have enough elements to understand if this amount is reasonable, excessive or lacking”.
The fact was then contested that in the budget of the group leader, 1.6 million euros appeared between devaluations and costs attributed to the subsidiary, without a clear indication of the fate of the same.
The reconstruction of the events is made by Sole 24 hourswho recalls how to answer the questions raised had been Calabi, who justified the choices with the desire to “ferry Fenice Retail towards one Liquidation in bonis“, That is, in compliance with social obligations, without the use of bankruptcy procedures.
The weight of the “pandoro gate”
As is evident, the very tough reputational impact suffered by Chiara Ferragni who exploded with the story of the “cannot be ignoredPandoro Gate“, Broke out at Christmas 2023 and to which other investigations and fines then followed. The media case, relating to the not very transparent communication around a charity promotion, had significant repercussions on the image of the brand and, indirectly, on the commercial performance of the company in 2024, the year in which the losses increased to the turn of 684,000 euros.
Recapitalization to save the group leader
The losses of Fenice Retail, although relevant, are already covered by a maxi recapitalization of 6.4 million euros made by Chiara Ferragni in favor of the Parent Company Fenice Srl. A necessary intervention, if we consider that the latter recorded, between 2023 and the first eleven months of 2024, a total red of more than 10 million euros.
The capital increase has also consolidated the entrepreneur control over the holding company that manages the activities related to its brand, leading her to hold almost all the shares.
It remains to be understood what the new entrepreneurial strategies of Chiara Ferragni will be, after this umpteenth blow. In the meantime, the digital entrepreneur in about 18 months has lost almost 900,000 followers.
