This fall, the Italian men's luxury brand Brioni introduced a much more modest product than the original hand-made suits - T-shirts. This is a signal that changes in the financial crisis and consumer habits have forced even the most conservative, family-managed luxury brand manufacturers to adapt to a new world. The Italian fashion house Brioni is best known for its "Queen's" formal dresses for James Bond and handmade suits priced from $ 4,000 to $ 47,000. But this fall, it introduced a much more modest product than the original lineup - the T-shirt. Of course, with luxurious Italian handmade embroidery, a T-shirt priced at $ 250 can not be called ordinary. Although other high-end Italian apparel brands such as Armani and Ermenegildo Zegna have done so many years ago, it is the first time Brioni has introduced such a low-end line. Since its founding in 1945, the brand's image and profits have been based on formal wear and the dignity of rich urban and country-style gentlemen. The crisis forced Brioni to change This is a sign that the financial crisis and changing spending habits have forced even the most conservative, family-managed luxury brand makers to adapt to a new world. Unlike its larger rival, Zegna, Brioni has refused to move its manufacturing from Italy to more cost-effective places such as Mexico. Nevertheless, the impact of the global financial crisis has spread to the Brioni company where the Abruzzo region - located two and a half hours east of Rome in the mountains, the same thing here is that the tailors are still beginning to do as a teenager Apprenticeship, while the saint's portrait is still the same as before covered the company's factory wall. The private-sector said it will not make accurate forecasts on the state of the economy this year, adding that the economic environment is not optimistic. "If we're lucky, we can make a profit in 2009," said Andrea Perotone, the grandson of Brioni, the company's president. Brioni said they made a very good profit last year with a total revenue of 200 million euros, excluding costs, a profit of 32 million euros ($ 45 million) before calculating currency devaluations, taxes, interest and amortization, and 2007 basically the same. The launch of the T-shirt fits well with the growth of a new generation of Brioni tailors who serve the celebrities of South African black leaders Nelson Mandela, American real estate tycoon Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew, Suit and dress. "This is a market stimulus," said Peronay, 39, "to show that we can make everything from shoes to hats." The launch of the T-shirt is "a signal from Brioni - to look younger The customer base and the lifestyle of its loyal customers have changed dramatically, "said Professor Armando Brunzini of the Department of Management at Bocconi University in Milan. The professor is also the managing director of Altagamma Foundation, a consortium of Italian luxury brand manufacturers. The new T-shirt also represents a new starting point for the Brioni brand, but it is also a reflection of the brand's tradition. "It should not feel the same as Hanes," Mr. Perrone nervously snorted. He is an aristocratic heir to Peroni's first independent president in July of this year after just three years as the other two presidents ran the company in 2006. "You can not ignore the market even if you are loyal to the brand's tradition." Mr. Perrone, on the other hand, moved his hand to the logo on the T-shirt that Brioni was developing in the 1950s and 1960s Sweet period of the trademark. LaDia DaPiQiGao, a partner of Bain consulting firm, said that the high-end formalwear market shrank faster than the average menswear market. Dapquio tracking the luxury industry, she said: "If you have a lot of beautiful wardrobe in the suit, then you can postpone the purchase of new." Casual series to attract new customers Although Brioni's T-shirt and crocodile Ragged, expensive jean never appear on cheap bar counters, but these are more popular with the rich at a time when everyone is paying attention, and at the same time these products will help Brioni expand Market, attract new consumer groups. "The suit is still Brioni-branded DNA, but casual wear is a much more popular product," said Russell Patrick, a senior vice president at luxury-based U.S. high-end department store Neiman Marcus. This spring, with several best-selling models sold out, the department store chain had to replenish those Brioni jeans that cost more than $ 300. While the older generation of Brioni leaders and tailors still attached great importance to the brand's tradition, devoutly embracing manual locking and the correct method of smoothing the shoulders of the suit jacket, Perrone tried hard to balance and maintain the family's business And launched a T-shirt series. Three years ago, sales of Brioni casual wear accounted for only 15% to 20% of Brioni's overall sales. Now, Brioni casual wear part of the sales reached 30% to 40% of the overall. Perrone also said his goal is to earn 50% of Brioni's total revenue for jeans, polo shirts, loose pants and T-shirts. For Brioni, like other luxury brands, sales of casual wear worldwide have been the only bright spot in the steeply declining market, which is particularly evident in the United States. And Brioni went through a serious blow to brand dignity and profitability: Lost James B. Bond clothing deal, Tom Ford brand to replace it as 007 movie "Quantum crisis" actor Daniel k Craig's clothing supplier. While turning to casual wear, Brioni is also benefiting from the Peronian company's Silk Road strategy, which opens new stores in emerging markets such as Russia, the Middle East, India and China. It helped Brioni reduce its share of sales in the United States from 50% three years ago to 30% today. "If we still rely heavily on the U.S. market, can you imagine the company's current situation?" Perrone said. Of course, the two families that control Brioni's strategy of implementing the "Silk Road" can imagine. Earlier this year, they also struggled to fund corporate hedge funds, banks and potential investors as part of their ambitious expansion plans, as many other Italian luxury brands such as Bulgari have done It's But these programs are now shelved. "Even nine months ago, we were still planning how to grow and grow the company, but the situation is completely different now," Perona said. Due to the financial crisis, Brioni had to reduce the workload of 1,400 tailor-craftsmen and cutters in Abruzzo, while the Italian government, like several other European governments, stepped in to make up for the loss of workers' wages. Under such circumstances, Perrone collaborated with the other nine family members of the Brioni brand and decided to slowly focus on the implementation of the Silk Road strategy as well as an increase in the Leisure Series. "We can now afford these costs with the family's own assets," he said. "I mean expanding as Brioni himself, instead of adding 20 stores a year instead of two or three, and although we are now at A transitional phase, but a step by step. "Although T-shirts are the more cautious and even narrower product, they reflect the evolution of most Italian family businesses in recent years. The tradition of Brioni has not changed. The workers still supply their own homemade cheese and olive oil to Perroté, while the clergyman still holds a mass in the cafeteria at Christmas and Easter. The restaurant is just a few steps from the sewing production line where sewing workers are located. "Abruzzo is a poorer area, but the people here are peasants, self-sufficient and think the tailor is a good job." Brioni Tailor School is responsible for apprenticing the senior tailor Luciano Morey Lee said. He has been an apprentice since the age of 10 and has 60 years of work experience. "This is a tailor-made home, because here a jacket can change 50 kilograms of flour, a pair of trousers can change a lot of eggs," he added. "Although the exchange of barter is no longer popular in the Abruzzo region, the old-school habit has been passed down." Angelo Petlucchi, 38, said he was a student of Mr. Morelli and is now Brioni's chief high-level tailor. "Fabrics have become lighter and lighter, but some tailor processes have not changed, and these processes have taken over 200 years." Peter Ludo loves showing Sudan, presidents and princes tailored to his classic suits , And apparently less enthusiastic about the benefits of Brioni T-shirts and other casual wear. Peroni, on the other hand, has no such emotional attachment, admitting that it is difficult to explain the reality of the financial crisis to those living in Abruzzo and seldom involved in the outside world. "Here, they are loyal to traditional suits," he said. "But the market needs casual wear."