Blunauta

Brand of clothing. Its origins have deep roots in the history of Balloon Spa, established in Rome in 1976 thanks to an idea of the siblings Gabriella and Roberto Greco to create extremely refined clothes using artisanal yarns and natural fibers such as silk, linen and cashmere. By 2001 Blunauta had become the company brand, in the wake of a big expansion on the international market and new demand from a more and more sophisticated and demanding clientele. The passage from Balloon to Blunauta was marked by the latter’s début on the Milan runways during Milan Collezioni Donna in September 2001. The change of name coincided with improved quality and a rejuvenated, more fashionable product. The philosophy of the company is to offer quality garments at extremely affordable prices, thanks to production which takes place almost exclusively in China through two joint ventures with local partners. There are more than 80 Blunauta shops, divided between directly-owned and franchise stores. They are mainly in Italy, Spain, and the U.S., where a presence was established in December 2002 through Blunauta USA with the opening of 4 directly-owned stores. In that same month, the company decided on a share-offering in the amount of €17.5 million, plus an investment of €25 million to open new single-brands shops. In 2001, Balloon Spa, the holding company controlling the group, had a turnover of €30 million; in 2002, it was 37 million. Some 56% of revenues comes from silk garments, followed by pure cotton, wool and cashmere.