Borsalino

What Borsalino does

Borsalino is an Italian heritage luxury hatmaker founded in 1857, currently operating under the legal entity Haeres Equita srl with headquarters at Corso Garibaldi 122, Valenza, Italy. The company designs, produces, and sells premium felt and straw hats (Fedora, Trilby, Panama, Country and Cowboy, Wool Felt, Straw), caps (Flat Caps, Berets, Baseball, Bucket, Sailor, Waterproof, Beanies), and an expanding accessories portfolio that includes bags under a Gamat licensing agreement, sunglasses through an OPHY collaboration, signature perfumes, and a Care Kit for hat maintenance.

The core technology is artisanal Italian craftsmanship in felt and straw hat production, supplemented by bespoke services (Made-to-Measure), hat care and repair programs, and a heritage content layer including a museum and storytelling assets (The Felt Journey, The Straw Journey). Distribution combines a direct-to-consumer global e-commerce platform (borsalino.com with regional storefronts including a US English version), a network of monobrand physical boutiques accessible via a store locator, and licensed third-party channels for non-headwear categories. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time luxury product sales with a growing licensing royalty component from the Gamat leather goods arrangement.

The customer base is affluent luxury fashion consumers across both men's and women's segments, served globally with active expansion into the Asia Pacific luxury market. The company's GTM combines DTC retail and e-commerce, strategic channel partnerships (Essence Group for 50 planned Greater China monobrand boutiques and a 2026 e-commerce flagship), and licensing deals (Gamat for leather goods, OPHY for eyewear) to extend the brand without proportionate capital outlay on non-core categories.

Name

Borsalino

Legal name

Haeres Equita srl

Website

https://borsalino.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1857

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Borsalino is a 1857-founded Italian heritage luxury hatmaker (operating as Haeres Equita srl) selling premium felt and straw hats, caps, bags, sunglasses, and perfumes to affluent global consumers via DTC e-commerce and monobrand boutiques.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Headwear

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (31599), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (4581)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Hats & Headwear (CRAKAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hats, Caps & Headwear (CRAAAJAE), Headwear Manufacturing (Hats/Caps/Beanies) (IMAOAFAA), Handbags & Fashion Bags Manufacturing (IMAOAHAA)

Keywords

• Luxury hats
• Italian headwear
• Premium hats
• Luxury accessories
• Hat manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Alessandria

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Luxury Hat Sales: Core revenue from selling luxury hats including fedoras, trilby hats, rollable hats, country and cowboy hats, Panama hats, felt hats, wool felt hats, and straw hats through direct retail and e-commerce channels.
2. Caps Sales: Sales of various cap styles including flat caps, berets, baseball caps, bucket caps, sailor caps, waterproof caps, caps with and without visor, and beanies.
3. Leather Goods Licensing: Licensing revenue from leather goods partnership with Swiss company Gamat, extending the Borsalino brand into bags and leather accessories.
4. Accessories and Sundries: Sales of accessories including sunglasses (collaboration with OPHY), perfumes (Perfume Street fragrances), care kits, and other branded merchandise.
5. Bags Collection: Sales of women's bags and leather goods under the Borsalino brand, operated under licensing agreement with Gamat.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Borsalino manufactures and sells Italian luxury hats (Fedoras, Trilbys, Panama, Felt, Wool Felt, Straw, Rollable, Country and Cowboy styles) and caps (Flat Caps, Berets, Baseball Caps, Bucket Caps, Sailor Caps, Waterproof Caps, Beanies). The company also offers women's bags under a licensing agreement with Gamat, sunglasses in collaboration with OPHY, signature perfumes, hat care accessories, and Made to Measure bespoke services through its own e-commerce store and monobrand boutiques.

Product overview

Borsalino is an Italian luxury hatmaker founded in 1857, now operating under Haeres Equita srl. The company offers a comprehensive luxury accessories portfolio organized around its heritage craftsmanship. Core offerings include luxury hats (Fedora, Trilby, Panama, Felt, Straw, Rollable, Country and Cowboy styles), caps, bags (via Gamat licensing), sunglasses (in collaboration with OPHY), and perfumes. Additional services include Made to Measure customization, Care Kit accessories, and seasonal Capsule Collections. The company operates monobrand boutiques globally with strategic expansion into Greater China through Essence Group partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hats

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• GamatflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 29 September 2025Borsalino signed a new licensing deal with Swiss company Gamat for leather goods. This strategic partnership extends Borsalino's brand into leather bags and accessories category, announced during Milan Fashion Week Spring 2026 accessories presentations.
• Essence GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 February 2025Italian luxury hatmaker Borsalino entered a strategic long-term partnership with China-based Essence Group to expand into Greater China. The five-year plan includes opening 50 monobrand boutiques starting with Shanghai in H1 2025, with locations across Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, plus an e-commerce flagship launch planned for 2026. The partnership leverages Essence Group's local market expertise to build direct consumer relationships in the region.
• OPHYminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBorsalino collaborated with OPHY for sunglasses production, creating the Borsalino x OPHY sunglasses collection where heritage meets innovation in eyewear.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Goyard: French trunk maker and leather goods house with a similar heritage-driven, scarcity-based luxury model and selective distribution strategy.
• Loro Piana: Italian heritage luxury brand specializing in premium fibers and accessories, sharing Borsalino's Italian artisanal heritage positioning and high-end pricing strategy.
• Brunello Cucinelli: Italian luxury brand with similar heritage-craftsmanship narrative, Italian manufacturing footprint, and premium pricing discipline targeting affluent global consumers.
• Hermès: French luxury conglomerate with a leather goods and accessories business that overlaps with Borsalino's adjacent categories (bags, small leather goods) and sets the luxury pricing benchmark Borsalino competes against.
• Loewe (LVMH): Spanish luxury leather goods house under LVMH with comparable handbag-led category extension and heritage-craftsmanship brand positioning adjacent to Borsalino's licensing-led leather push.

Direct peers

• Stetson: American heritage hatmaker most directly comparable to Borsalino as a globally recognized branded hat company spanning western, fashion, and felt hat categories with similar premium positioning.
• Akubra: Australian heritage hat brand with comparable iconic-product status, multi-generational brand recognition, and premium felt hat manufacturing expertise.
• Christy's London: British heritage hatmaker producing felt and straw hats with similar artisanal manufacturing traditions and luxury headwear positioning.
• Lock & Co. Hatters: London-based luxury hatter founded in 1676, the closest analogue in terms of heritage craftsmanship, bespoke service, and luxury positioning in the headwear category.

Others

• Tumi: Premium luggage and leather accessories brand providing a reference point for adjacent travel goods retail and leather accessories category dynamics relevant to Borsalino's Gamat-licensed bag extension.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Borsalinoworld

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Borsalino