He dominated the tennis scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He won multiple Grand Slams and rose to glory in both the United States and Europe. But the competition became fiercer. The rest of the players grew and from the success they knew how to achieve they fell… into bankruptcy. It’s about the Italian brand Sergio Tacchiniwho dressed many stars on the world stage, however also faced several of them.
Before becoming the name of a sports label, Sergio Tacchini stands out as a professional tennis player. The Novara native won three Italian championships and was a member of the Davis Cup national team until his retirement in the mid-1960s. venture into the world of clothing with his own company, Sandys Confezioni. Two years later, through his company, he would launch his clothing brand.
golden generation
The firm became popular with players as Tacchini knew first-hand the type of garment they were looking for. In addition added color to an outfit that, at the time, was mostly white. In the 70s I arranged to dress the Romanian Ilie Nastaseknown as “the jester of Bucharest”, and American Jimmy Connorstwo of the most outstanding of the circuit.
McEnroe was one of the figures of Sergio Tacchini
Later, other cracks would arrive in Sergio Tacchini’s portfolio of stars, such as Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova, Pat Cash and Gabriela Sabatini. However, the main reference of the brand during that time was the rebel John McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slams with the Italian jersey.
Link with hip hop and other sports
In the United Kingdom, Sergio Tacchini’s designs became popular within hooligan culture, while in the United States he gained space in the world of hip hop. Some musical references of the time, such as The Notorious BIG, Nas and LL Cool J used their clotheswhile others, such as Jay Z and The Wu Tang Clan, referenced the brand in their rhymes.
Biggie (third from left to right), one of the rappers who used clothing from the Italian brand
At the same time, the Italian firm diversified into other sports. He signed an agreement with the basketball player Dino Meneghin, with the Brazilian car driver Ayrton Senna and also dabbled in golf. Also, in 2001 it launched its own sports sailing team.
The trial with Martina Hingis
But problems started towards the end of the 90’s. Nike and Adidas gained prominence in the world of clothing and sales fell. In turn, the brand had not expanded sufficiently outside of Europe, its core market, and the family business posted losses. To this is added a legal battle with one of his tennis players: Martina Hingis.
Hingis and Sergio Tacchini began their relationship in 1999 but it all ended in a millionaire trial.
The Swiss player sued Sergio Tacchini in 2000 for US$40 million. She claimed that the company had given him defective shoes and that had forced her to withdraw from several tournaments due to the pain they caused her in her feet, according to the AP agency. Finally The company filed for bankruptcy in 2007..
Djokovic won too much
Chinese businessman Billy Ngok bought the brand in 2008 for $42 million. Five years later it partnered with Wintex Hong Kong to accelerate the label’s growth. In 2009 Sergio Tacchini seemed to have returned to the ring after signing a Diez contract to con Novak Djokovic. The Serbian won three Grand Slams in 2011, but a year later he broke his ties with the brand.
What happened? According to a company statement, Djokovic the “super”. His performance was such Sergio Tacchini found it difficult to pay the bonuses to which he had committed. Added to this were distribution problems. For example, the clothing used by Nole arrived at stores with little stock or late.
In 2019, the firm changed hands again after being acquired by businessman Stefano Maroni in partnership with the funds Twin Lakes Capital and B Riley Principal Investments. This year it was sold to the South Korean clothing group F&F Holdings. for US$63 million.
