Hat manufacturer Borsalino went bankrupt

Famous Italian hat manufacturer Borsalino is now bankrupt. The Allessandria court disapproved the legendary hat maker’s restructuring plan yesterday.

Curtain falls after 160 years

Borsalino celebrated its 160th birthday this year, but will not be able to end the year on a high. The hat brand filed for Chapter 11, but the court rejected its request. Labour unions told Reuters that its debt was eighteen million euro.

The company’s financial problems have been present for a while: Swiss police arrested former majority shareholder Marco Marenco in 2015 on suspicion of financial crime. Borsalino exchanged owners that year, to investment firm Haeres Equita. It invested ten million euro to get the company, known for its dented Fedora hats, and it returned to profitability by the end of 2015. Profits grew to 2.6 million euro in 2016 thanks to a 17.5 million euro turnover. It had forecast a 20 % turnover growth by 2018, but it still had a huge debt. It sought protection with the courts, but alas.

Manufacturing continued, guardians appointed

It is not clear whether the company will be able to relaunch, but the court did appoint two guardians that have to take care of debt payments. Owner Haeres Equita says it will also continue the manufacturing process. 

The investment group is now looking for a solution to safeguard the company’s future. It employs 134 people and manufactures about 150,000 hats. Labour unions say the company will reveal the solution it can pull out of its dented hat in the next few days.