Just Cavalli Reopens in New York

Just two years after former licensing partner Ittierre closed the Fifth Avenue Just Cavalli store, the brand is back and better than ever! With new licensee Staff International, through Staff USA, a 5,650-square-foot flagship store opened in SoHo at 434 West Broadway.

"I think the brand was like a beloved child that was seriously ill, and I feel like the doctor," Roberto Cavalli told WWD. "I enjoyed bringing it back.

"I like the idea of having the store on West Broadway, because I used to live there," he added. "It's an area that I adore. There are also a number of designer brands that rarely make mistakes in positioning, such as Giorgio Armani's Emporio Armani store, for example."

"In the last year, this area underwent a huge transformation with art galleries and stores," said Monica Voltolina, chief executive officer of Staff USA. "Uptown, we've developed a strong partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue." A shop-in-shop at Saks is in Just Cavalli's future and men's wear is sold at Bloomingdale's.

"We will open more stores," Voltolina said. "We have tremendous success in Miami" with wholesale accounts. "Miami is definitely in our future, and Los Angeles for sure. It will happen very soon, I'd say we're working on that." Voltolina declined to be more specific.

"The line has been growing 25 percent to 35 percent each season, almost from scratch, after the Ittierre tragedy," the designer said. "We need another couple of years to return to phenomenal [sales] figures." Sales are now at around 90 million euros, or $121.6 million at current exchange. Before Ittierre's financial problems they were at around 200 million euros.