Reda has formalised the acquisition of Lanieri, a startup it has been investing in since 2016. While the news comes as no surprise, it is worth noticing that the operation had positive effects for the companies of Biella’s textile sector. The official press release confirmed that “by joining Reda group, Lanieri will benefit from greater operational capacity and relationships with suppliers, while Reda will have access to the technology and digital skills made available by the startup”.
The business plan of Lanieri is natively hinged on the e-commerce of bespoke men’s suits, that can be customised online thanks to a dedicated 3D configurator; the online business is backed by physical services provided by local ateliers, which act as personal assistants.
Lanieri’s ateliers provide the tailoring service of bespoke men’s suits, while sales take place only through the online shop, using a 3D configurator (credit: Lanieri)
An innovative solution which has achieved remarkable success in just a few years, if you consider that Simone Maggi and Riccardo Schiavotto established the startup only in 2013, after the positive results obtained in the Piemonte and Valle D’Aosta Startup Cup, a competition to finance and support innovative entrepreneurial projects. It was on this occasion that the young team from Lanieri met up with an undisputed cornerstone of the textile industry such as Reda, which have been in the business since 1865.
During the acquisition process, all main stakeholders firmly stated their will to continue and strengthen the open innovation programme started by Lanieri: “We believe that – explains Luca Martines, CEO of Reda’s consumer division – the digitisation of the textile industry represents an essential process and a fundamental strategic tool for tackling future challenges, which will increasingly be focused on consumer needs. Our goal is to fulfil these needs in a more precise, customised and, above all, sustainable way”.
Simone Maggi, co-founder and CEO of Lanieri, confirms his words not forgetting to mention the critical issues that a technology startup must face: “Reda was one of our investors. We also used its fabrics for our suits. At a certain point, they discovered the great potential of our skills and understood that they could use them. They decided to incorporate us to innovate their business model […] This is how big companies should act: opening up to startups which are free to make mistakes, to innovate and to overcome their limits”.
Lanieri’s online shop 3D configurator (credit: Lanieri)
Having witnessed Reda and Lanieri’s growth, as a supplier of 3D digital technologies for both companies, Protocube Reply greets the merge with great satisfaction seeing an opportunity to boost innovation and confidence in the entire digital supply chain of the textile and fashion industry, from design to sales.
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