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Bally (fashion house)
Bally International Ltd.[1] is a Swiss luxury fashion house and company founded in 1851 by brothers Carl Franz Bally and Fritz Bally based in Caslano, Switzerland. Traditionally the brand was most known for its shoes but has ever since also diversified into leather goods, bags, baggage, accessories and ready-to-wear. Bally's current creative director is Simone Bellotti, who succeeded Rhuigi Villaseñor, who was its creative director from 2022-2023.[2][3][4] It has been continuously owned and managed by the Bally family for six generations until 1999, when it was sold to TPG Inc., a private equity firm, based in San Francisco.[5] In 2008, it was ultimately sold to Labelux Group (presently known as JAB Holding Company) which is ultimately owned by the German Reimann family.[6] History  Bally was founded as a shoe making business in 1851 by Carl Franz Bally and his brother Fritz in the basement of their family home in Schönenwerd, Solothurn, Switzerland. Carl Franz Bally had joined the family business, a silk ribbon manufacturer, when he was 17, but decided to go into shoe manufacturing after a stay in Paris. After Carl's death in 1899, the company continued under the management of Carl's sons, Eduard and Arthur[7] and continued to manufacture about two million pairs of shoes a year, employing 3,200 people.[8] Modern eraIn 2008, TPG Capital sold Bally International AG to Vienna-based Labelux Group, luxury goods holding firm that previously owned Jimmy Choo Ltd, and was founded by the German billionaire Reimann family as part of the family’s investment arm Joh A. Benckiser.[9] Headquartered in Caslano, Ticino, Switzerland, the company announced Frédéric de Narp, a former executive at Harry Winston, would become its chief executive officer in November 2013.[10] In February 2018, owner JAB Holding Company agreed to sell a majority controlling stake to Chinese materials conglomerate Shandong Ruyi.[11] In May 2019, Bally appointed its COO Nicolas Girotto, who joined the company in October 2015 and sat on the brand's board of directors and executive committee, as new CEO.[12] In January 2022, Rhuigi Villaseñor was appointed as creative director. Rhuigi was previously founder, CEO, and creative director of the luxury streetwear brand Rhude.[13][14] In May 2023, after only two collections, Bally and Villaseñor jointly announced his departure from the brand.[15] Two weeks after the announcement of Villaseñor's departure, Simone Belloti was appointed as design director. The designer previously worked at Gucci for 16 years.[16] The brand was acquired in August 2024 by California-based private equity firm Regent.[17] Boutiques As of January 2020, Bally's retail network included 311 boutiques, with 500 multi-brand points of sale spanning 66 countries.[18] References
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