High-potential SMEs

Egm under the X-ray: Gentili Mosconi saw a 22.5 per cent increase in revenue

Growth occurred in the first nine months of 2025. The company is active in high-quality fabrics for women's fashion

by Valeria Novellini

9 January 2026

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Numbers
First-half margins were affected by recent acquisitions
With Cesare Gatti product range extension to wool and cashmere

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Fashion has always been one of the spearheads of Made in Italy. But US tariffs, the highs and lows of Chinese consumption and other international turbulence have dealt it a severe blow. Few brands have survived, and mostly high-end ones. What to do? One possible defence strategy is to 'work as a system', bearing in mind that fashion in Italy is concentrated in several specialised production districts. And this is the growth policy adopted by the company Gentili Mosconi, which in the first 9 months of 2025 saw its revenues rise by an impressive 22.5%, thanks to a recovery in orders but also to the acquisition of Manifatture Tessili Bianchi & C. Srl, acquired at the beginning of 2025 for a consideration of 4 million, entirely paid for in newly issued Gentili Mosconi shares valued at 4 euro each.

The numbers

Even disregarding the acquired company - which also operates in the Como district, specifically in Caslino al Piano, and is active in the creation and production of high-quality plain fabrics for women's fashion on behalf of luxury brands - Gentili Mosconi's revenues would have risen by 22.8% in the third quarter of 2025. Subsequently, Gentili Mosconi set up the newco Cesare Gatti Srl (70% owned, while 30% is owned by the Brescia-based mechanical-textile group Camozzi), through which Lanificio Cesare Gatti, founded in 1948 in Biella, was taken over from the bankruptcy proceedings for a total outlay of approximately €538,000.

Biella, indeed. Not only Como. And in fact Gentili Mosconi, last September, was one of the participants in the 'Innovation for Luxury' initiative, a network of luxury manufacturing companies promoted by Fili di Innovazione (whose founding members, in addition to Gentili Mosconi, are Isa Seta, Ostinelli Seta and the consultancy firm Open Advisory), which was immediately joined by groups from Biella such as Achille Pinto, Quality Biella and the Magnolab network of companies, as well as Manufacture des Accessoires Louis Vuitton. In turn, Fili di Innovazione was set up in early 2025 to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the luxury textile supply chain.

First-half margins were affected by recent acquisitions

In the first half of 2025, Gentili Mosconi had seen turnover increase by 4% to EUR 23.6 million (the contribution of Manifatture Tessili Bianchi was limited since the transaction was actually finalised at the end of April), with stable figures for the subsidiary Stamperia Emme Srl, while Tintoria Comacina Srl saw revenues rise by 30% thanks to the acquisition of new customers as well as an increase in processing on behalf of the parent company.

During the period, revenues from textiles increased by 23.7% to €11.8 million and those from printing and dyeing fabrics (Stamperia Emme Srl and Tintoria Comacina Srl) doubled from €908,000 to €1.8 million, but those from accessories (scarves, foulards) fell by 16.9% to €9.1 million and those from home textiles by a massive 40.4% to €526,000. The group realised most of its sales in Italy (+24.2% to EUR 11.5 million, driven by Manifatture Tessili Bianchi), but sales in the rest of the EU fell by 18.3% to EUR 5.8 million, while non-EU sales remained stable at around EUR 6.3 million.

However, profit margins were affected by the strong growth in operating costs (in particular, raw material costs rose by 13.8% to EUR 8.3 million and personnel costs rose by 27.2% to about EUR 7 million, with the average number of employees rising from 201 to 227, also due to the entry of Manifatture Tessili Bianchi).000 and from a net profit of EUR 1.5 million to a net loss of EUR 398,000. These figures were affected by the losses of the recently acquired companies Manifatture Tessili Bianchi and Tintoria Comacina (taken over in 2024), on which investments were concentrated in the first half of the year by purchasing the industrial building in which production activities are carried out (which is currently being upgraded in terms of plant and structural improvements) and by commencing extraordinary maintenance on the machinery fleet and replacing the fabric quality control machinery.

On an adjusted basis, ebit would have fallen from EUR 2.1 million to EUR 75,000 and net income would have broken even (EUR 1.8 million in the first half of 2024), in the presence in both periods of costs and ancillary charges of EUR 0.4 million related to the IPO at the beginning of 2023. Of course: if instead of 2023 the company had listed in 2025, it would have been able to take advantage of the 'Bonus Lombardia', which largely covers these charges, but in the meantime it would have missed out on opportunities to make acquisitions.

With Cesare Gatti extension of product range to wool and cashmere

Gentili Mosconi has good liquidity (Euro 9.8 million at 30/9/2025, albeit down from Euro 12.9 million at the end of 2024, also as a result of the investments made; the parent company's 2024 net profit of Euro 836,000 was prudentially carried forward. The outlay for Lanificio Cesare Gatti, as already mentioned, is limited (and there are only five new employees), but even here it will be necessary to restructure due to the fact that it came from bankruptcy proceedings. However, with this operation, the group will also be able to extend its activities to the production of yarns, scarves and high value-added fabrics in wool, with the valorisation of precious fibres (in particular cashmere, which was the original fibre from which the Biella company started) and the launching of innovative processes of circular economy and recovery of raw materials.

The collaboration with the Japanese giant Konica Minolta also continues and, until March 2026, the Nassenger 8 digital machine for printing on acetate will be on trial (world first) at Creazioni Digitali (participated by Gentili Mosconi), which allows a 30% reduction in runtimes and up to 95% reduction in water consumption compared to traditional processes. The fabric for the trial is supplied by Manifatture Tessili Bianchi.

The Altagamma 2025 Observatory presented in November estimates a contraction of the luxury personal goods market (as a whole) equal to 2% (stable at constant exchange rates), for a countervalue of 358 billion, with +4% for clothing driven by so-called "accessible luxury". In 2026, a 5% increase (in both sales and ebitda) is indicated for the entire market, although the exchange rate effect remains an unknown factor, especially with reference to the US dollar.

Altagamma believes that in the current market context, brands are called upon to prioritise the recovery of efficiency in the immediate term, but in the long term (estimated annual growth of between 4% and 6%) they will benefit from the expansion of the consumer base, particularly with regard to brands capable of integrating ethics into their 'value proposition'. And this is what Gentili Mosconi, a benefit company that has been drawing up its sustainability report since 2020, has always done. At the end of 2024, the Gentili Mosconi Foundation was established, which has a huge archive of designs, fabrics, accessories and antique books and offers training programmes to young people under 35 interested in a job in fashion. In addition to this, it promotes exhibitions dedicated to the enhancement of Como textiles and events dedicated to charitable initiatives.

Positive input from Mercosur agreement and Confindustria Moda

Having said that, the fashion sector in Italy is still in a critical situation and the provisions relating to the sector's supply chain have been removed from the Ddl on SMEs pending further study; however, there could be a benefit from the recent closure of the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Brazil in particular represents a huge potential outlet for Italian fashion companies).

In any case, since May 2025, Confindustria Moda has been led by Luca Sburlati, managing director of the Turin-based Pattern, which is also a subcontractor and listed on Euronext Growth Milan like Gentili Mosconi (and has grown significantly through external lines), and therefore certainly sensitive to the specific situation. On 12 November, Confindustria Moda presented the guidelines of the sector's 2035 Strategic Industrial Plan to the Senate, which outlines seven strategic lines of action both in the short and medium-long term.

Awaiting developments on the legislative front (which will hopefully not be too long in coming), Gentili Mosconi, after a still transitional 2025, is moving into 2026 with the aim of capitalising on the integration and rationalisation actions also in terms of profit margins. The stock, like many on Euronext Growth Milan, is thinly traded, but has a relatively high free float of just under 30% of the share capital.