Giorgio Armani, Italy's leading fashion designer, on Thursday found himself tripping down an unusual catwalk as analysts at one of the country's most influential banks named his group the country's second most profitable company. According to R and S, the research arm of Mediobanca, the secretive Milan merchant bank, in 1996 - the most recent figures available - the Giorgio Armani group could boast profits amounting to 29.2 per cent of its net sales of $678 million).This put Armani one tenth of a point behind the profits of 29.3 per cent of sales clocked up by Fratelli Branca, best known as the makers of a liqueur called Fernet Branca. Its admirers swear by the concoction as a "digestivo"; detractors find it reminiscent of distilled radiator flushings and sugar.Behind Armani came Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset, Italy's main commercial TV broadcaster and the highest-placed quoted company in the ranking. Mediaset, which specialises in showing films, scantily clad girls and re-runs of American soaps, had profits totalling 26.2 per cent of its sales of just over 3 trillion lire.Armani said his company's placing was "the fruit of effective strategies of product and image that have remained coherent over time."He added: "The Giorgio Armani group has a balanced and global presence in all the major consumer markets and a brand awareness that puts our products in a leadership position in the luxury goods sector."At present, Giorgio Armani SpA, the group parent company, is owned outright by Giorgio Armani. He has been pondering floating part of the company for some time and has been restructuring it in preparation.Analysts in Milan guess that if he goes ahead - a final decision is expected soon - it could be worth in the region of 4.5 trillion lire.But now that the Asian financial crisis has made conspicuous consumption less fashionable in Japan and the rest of the region, it remains to be seen whether Armani will be able to retain his position at the top of the financial heap. "Italy's fashion designers are very creative, they have lots of imagination. Even if Armani's not right at the top next year, I'm sure he'll be in a high position," said one of the analysts who compiled the ranking.Copyright: Guardian News Service
