The sale of Diesel Australia is imminent, the brand's current licence holder has revealed. Theo Onisforou revealed to Ragtrader earlier this month the sale of the Australian licence for the famed Italian brand was “very close”, with a public announcement expected on October 28. “I am working on the papers as I speak,” Onisforou said.
Though he declined to reveal any further details, Onisforou and his business partner Lisa Keighery have been working on the sale since May 2010.
“We have the support of Diesel Italy and our key focus is to ensure the successful company is the right fit for Diesel and has a proven licence brand management record,” Onisforou said at that time.
The new Australian licensees will inherit four Diesel retail stores and a national wholesale business, including accounts with department store David Jones and youth retailer Glue Store.
Onisforou expressed dissatisfaction with David Jones' wholesale operations in an interview with Ragtrader in September.
“More and more labels are going into David Jones and the main designers are getting less and less space. You're not able to put on a full offer there... We [Diesel] have only got three per cent of our offer in David Jones because that's all the room we've got.”
Onisforou and Keighery have been the Australian licence holders for the brand since 2008, though Onisforou has been a private investor in the business for close to 20 years. Mark Keighery, who introduced Diesel to Australia in the 1980s, held the licence prior to 2008.
Diesel currently trades in over 80 countries with more than 300 branded retail stores in existence. Approximately 100 of the retail sites are operated by local distributors, such as Onisforou and Keighery.
Erin O'Loughlin