The Milan investigation on caporalato

Tod's hearing postponed 'Controls in the supply chain implemented'

The group's defence brief is creating a platform and assumes monitoring at production sites

by Sara Monaci

24 February 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Tod's hearing on the request by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office to block the advertising business for six months is still postponed. It will be discussed again on 20 April. But in the meantime, the group from the Marche has presented its defence brief illustrating the measures already taken to strengthen the supply chain and prevent the exploitation of labour among subcontractors.

The interdiction had come following the opening of a file on caporalato, in which a manager and two employees of the group are still under investigation. On the basis of law 231 on corporate liability, the public prosecutor Paolo Storari requested a stop to the promotional activity.

The three actions

In December, Tod's had announced its 'firm intention to do everything in its power to guarantee the safety and dignity of work'. It has now sent a document addressed to the Gip in which it emphasises the path already taken by the company and shared by the board of directors. Defender Francesco Mucciarelli thus lists the three main areas of action.

A dedicated platform is being prepared to enable 'complete traceability of activities', with the possibility of centralising information and having uniform management of controls. A diversified qualification based on the supplier's riskiness (it can be 'ordinary' or 'enhanced') has also been introduced, with the possibility of blocking relations in the event of higher risk. Furthermore, there is talk of an extension of audit activities, followed by action in the event of non-compliance.

Platform construction

The platform is currently being implemented. Once implemented, it will allow all stages of the process to be followed, from evaluation to approval to monitoring of subcontractors and laboratories, quickly updating data and making them easily available for consultation.

The aim is to create timely documentation of suppliers, who in turn will have to declare their supply chain, followed by a 'structured set of audits, financial, reputational, organisational and compliance analyses, aimed at assessing their reliability'.

The requests that will be made are corporate and legal analysis; economic-financial analysis; reputational analysis; insurance coverage; and illustration of production capacity. In the absence of minimum documentation or in the presence of 'unresolved preliminary elements', the system will freeze, preventing corrective action at a later stage, which could jeopardise the company's production effectiveness.

The inspection phase comes next and involves an audit of the supplier's site to assess "macro operational and organisational conditions". A "full audit" by an external partner is also envisaged. Partners will have a 'preliminary vendor rating' updated on the basis of checks and monitoring shared with the group's supplier evaluation committee.

Surprise audits

Suppliers and workshops will be monitored more closely: unannounced audits at production sites have also been envisaged to check working conditions, actual production capacity and correspondence between orders placed and materials present. The aim here is to avoid undeclared subcontracting chains, within which the worst exploitation often hides.

The process of reviewing its processes is continuing, which is why Tod's has asked for more time. In April, the group hopes to arrive prepared to pass the examination and avoid prohibitory measures.