Mountain sports specialist La Sportiva appoints new general manager

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Mar 16, 2021

Mountain sport specialist La Sportiva has a new boss. Marcello Favagrossa has taken charge of the Italian brand specialised in mountain footwear and equipment.

Favagrossa has taken over from Lanfranco Brugnoli, who has retired after working for nearly two decades at the family company founded by Narciso Delladio.

In a press release, CEO Lorenzo Delladio said: “I am grateful to Lanfranco. In less than 20 years, we have grown from being a niche brand for mountain enthusiasts to one distributed in over 70 countries, with a priority focus on environmental and social responsibility. A growth that paves the way for the next generation of family members and managers.”

La Sportiva commercialises a wide range of mountain sports accessories, apparel and equipment, and is expanding on the American and Chinese markets.

Favagrossa will contribute his international business expertise to the company. He was formerly the marketing director of Eataly, a retail chain dedicated to Italian food and cuisine. Before that, between 2005 and 2017, Favagrossa worked at eyewear specialist Luxottica, first as brand director for Ray Ban, then tasked with the expansion of the Sunglass Hut retail chain in North America. Between 2013 and 2017, he was the general manager Europe and South-East Asia for Sunglass Hut.

“Marcello has joined a solid company that is constantly growing and has an ambitious expansion plan,” said Delladio. “He will be supported in this by myself and my children, who are preparing to take charge of the company in the years to come,” he added. Giulia Delladio, a member of the founding family’s fourth generation who has been working at La Sportiva since 2007, has been appointed marketing director.

In a recent conversation with the Italian specialist media, Lorenzo Delladio said La Sportiva’s results for the 2020 financial year were stable. In 2019, the company reported a revenue of over €120 million. La Sportiva was founded 93 years ago, and operates a 25,000 m2 production facility in the province of Trento, northern Italy.