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Frette Inc., the 150-year-old upscale Italian linens, sleepwear, loungewear and home accessories firm, is getting a facelift.
The company, which was acquired in 2006 by San Francisco-based JH Partners, a private equity group specializing in brand development and marketing, is revamping under a new chief executive officer for its North America operations: Paul Raffin, a seasoned top brand merchant with 10 years of experience as president of Express, who also held senior positions at J. Crew and Colours by Alexander Julian.
Raffin, who started in January, wants to expand the Frette name into a brand that will appeal to traditional Frette consumers who love luxury, the romance of Frette's Italian heritage and ornate textiles, and a new, "younger and sexier" consumer from the sophisticated urban community he described as "loft dwellers." The strategy includes bolstering brand awareness and exposure through a new bridge division, retail expansion and beefing up Frette's e-commerce and wholesale businesses, he said.
"One of the changes in our business model is to continue to emphasize the bedroom as the key occasion," Raffin said. "We will continue the linen business as our core business, but will also be extending into other categories such as lingerie, robes, sleepwear, loungewear, bath and spa products and, potentially down the road, personal care products.
"[JH Partners'] goal was to find a ceo for...