As part of a new feature on this website, is an item about a family-run business and its development. Family businesses are an important, and increasingly wooed, group of clients by wealth managers.

As part of a new segment on this site, we are running articles on family businesses, which are important sources of wealth management clients, with some family-owned firms later setting up family offices to run their financial affairs. To view a recent comment piece on how private banks are targeting the family business segment, click here.

Iconic family-owned Italian fashion house Missoni is not up for sale, Vittoro Missoni, the second-generation chief executive told Campden FB magazine in an exclusive interview.

Missoni's comments come at a time when other luxury brands, such as Escada, have been sold as a result of the financial crisis and others, including Gianfranco Ferre and Christian Lacroix, have sought bankruptcy protection.

“We do get approached, but now is not the right time. We need to continue the long-term value and the market’s respect for our company. The crisis will help our brands come out stronger as I believe that right now there is great value in the fact that we are the designers, owners and manufacturers of Missoni,” Vittorio said.

While the family’s resilience has come to the fore during the challenging business environment, its commitment to the success of the brand is central to everything it does, regardless of the economic situation. “We constantly retain the knowledge and tradition of our founders, who are members of our own family. We have day-to-day control and can take decisions easily,” he said.

Quality is a cornerstone of the Missoni philosophy and, as Vittorio explained, it is not something the family is prepared to sacrifice in order to increase production or distribution to compete with other, bigger brands.

“Sometimes at Missoni we have limitations compared to large brands, who can move faster thanks to the support of being part of a large group. But we feel it is important to retain our Italian way, it’s crucial for the kind of products we make,” said Vittorio.

The hallmark of many luxury brands is a dedication to quality and customer service and Missoni is no different. The firm began training women in knitting in the Lombardia region of Italy during the 1960s and some of the firm’s employees have been with the company for over 20 years, working for both generations of the Missoni family.

Vittorio runs the company, which is famous for its zig zag patterned clothing, with his two siblings Angela, creative director, and Luca who serves as the technical and production expert. Both their parents, founders Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, still serve on the board of the company alongside their three children, while the third generation in the shape of Margherita Missoni joined last year.

The importance of the family’s role in the business was highlighted during the last 18 months when Missoni was forced to cut costs in the face of decreasing sales figures. This included letting go of the company’s most senior non-family employee Massimo Gasparini.

Luca and Angela both took on aspects of Gasparini’s role on top of their other responsibilities because, as family members who have been immersed in how the company operates from a young age, they were willing and able to step into the breach and ensure the continued success of their family company. “We must be quick and elastic to react to today’s changes and challenges,” explained Vittorio.

With a strong, committed family management and a eye on the growth markets of Asia, you wouldn’t bet against Missoni being one of the many family-owned companies that continues to thrive as world economies edge out of recession.