Ferragamo appoints ex-Valentino CMO as Chief Brand Officer

Ferragamo has appointed former Valentino CMO Yigit Turhan as its new Chief Brand Officer, effective 18 May.

In his new role, Turhan will be tasked with overseeing the Italian luxury brand’s marketing, communications, visual merchandising and CRM activities, reporting to Chief Transformation and Sustainability Officer James Ferragamo, according to WWD.

Turhan joins Ferragamo after seven years with Valentino, where he most recently held the role of Chief Marketing Officer. He stepped down from this role in February, sharing in a LinkedIn post that he was grateful for the “immense privilege of contributing to one of the most iconic houses in the world”.

Prior to joining Valentino, Turhan held media and marketing roles at luxury brands Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna and Dolce & Gabbana.

Turhan’s appointment follows the exit of Ferragamo CEO Marco Gobbetti in February, after three years with the brand.

During his tenure, Gobbetti, who took over the brand in January 2022, failed to curb a decline in sales at the Florentine luxury house.

Like many other family-owned Italian labels, Ferragamo has found it difficult to adjust to fast-changing luxury consumer tastes amid a worldwide luxury slowdown.

The company’s latest financial results, published shortly ahead of Turhan’s appointment, showed that as of 31 March the group’s revenues totalled €209 million (£182 million), down 5.5% at current exchange rates, or down 1.2% at constant exchange rates compared to the same period last year.

While direct-to-consumer sales in company-owned shops and online continued to grow, reporting a 5.5% increase at constant exchange rates to €160.67 million (£139.8 million), wholesale saw a 19% drop in net sales at constant exchange rates to €42.16 million (£36.7 million).

TheIndustry.fashion has reached out to Ferragamo for comment.