1952

A cold winter morning. a journey, a dream, a vision. In 1952, Mario Briccola founded a company, INDUSTRIA VALIGERIA FINE MARIO BRICCOLA, manufacturing suitcases and bags. He knew he could rely on his own resources, initiative, courage, and creativity. Because Mario Briccola’s vision was projected towards a greater future, with ambitious goals, the main investment was on himself and his family. Sixty years later, after seeing his dream come true each day, Mario Briccola looks ahead to the future with the confidence of someone that has managed to build much more than a successful enterprise. Looking back, that cold day in Florence marked the start of a story that has still much to be told.

1960

Eight years after the foundation of INDUSTRIA VALIGERIA FINE, came the building of the first industrial facility. In the 1960s the company had 100 employees and was locally established as a strong entrepreneurial entity.

1962

The Bric’s brand first appears on the Italian market.

From now on, the product of INDUSTRIA VALIGERIA FINE MARIO BRICCOLA would be distinguished by a brand that carries all the values of Bric’s, an expressed promise to consumers evoking clearly defined functional product features.

The Bric’s brand becomes a company asset, encompassing distinctive traits, as well as the company’s history.

1978

The company’s growth continues unabated, while Mario Briccola shapes his “family-based” project by involving his children in the company in 1978.

The company has a consolidated industrial base. It both manufactures on behalf of outstanding names and relies on the potentials of its own brand. Roberto and Mariangela, the second generation, started a company-wide reorganization of manufacturing processes, in view of gaining market shares for the Bric’s branded products.

In the following years, six of the eight children would become the executive managers of the company. The founder’s dream comes true through the enhancement of the talents and attitudes of his offspring, according to the company’s needs.

1989

Bric’s opens up to foreign markets, giving start to its internationalization.

From now on, 4 foreign distribution units are opened in sequence to support market development. These include Bric’s GmbH in Germany, Bric’s France in Paris, Bric’s UK in London and, later, Bric’s USA in New York.

These offices help cover foreign markets and ensure on-going trend monitoring in the various countries.

1993

Bric’s signs a bilateral agreement with TUMI to promote Bric’s entry into the US market.

In time the company has established strategic partnerships with other brands, including Kipling, The Sak, and Wenger.

2000

The first Flagship Store opens in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan. The prestige of the Galleria in Milan demonstrates the wish of Bric’s to set up displays in appropriate locations, reflecting the elegance and fineness of its products. Other openings of Bric’s stores follow as the spearhead of a business development that reaches far beyond the national borders, a mix of creative skills and innovation, in perfect tuning with fashion trends and consumer expectations.

2001

Bric’s USA is established in New York. With the opening of this branch, based on Madison Avenue, Bric’s gets closer to the American consumers, interpreting their taste with the introduction of a dedicated assortment for the US. The American market rewards Bric’s, placing its products in the high-end status.

2002

Bric’s establishes a strategic partnership with Pininfarina Extra.

With a history that started back in 1930, Pininfarina is now one of the main suppliers of Design and Engineering to the automotive sector. Supported by high expertise and leveraging on its creativity and innovation, Pininfarina is now acting as a partner in other product and interior design sectors. Bric’s had developed strongly characterized collections in cooperation with the style office of Pininfarina.

2004

Bric’s approaches American consumers choosing Madison Avenue in New York, which encompasses the most glamorous stores in town, as the location for its US Flagship Store.

2006

Bric’s opens a number of new points of sale in Italy and in Europe, including in Florence, on via Por Santa Maria leading to Ponte Vecchio, in the historical centre of Padua, and in Rome, at the Fiumicino international airport.

The company then expands across Europe, particularly to the East, with openings in Athens, Greece; Sofia, Bulgaria; Moscow, Russia; and Ankara, Turkey. It later reaches the Middle East, and settles in the richest of the Arab Emirates, with boutiques in the temples of luxury: the Dubai Mall and the Wafi Mall.

2008

Bric’s lands in the Far East with important locations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenyang. These early experiences in China pave the way for the Bric’s brand across Asia, spreading from the largest consumer market in the world to South-East Asia in subsequent years.

2011

Bric’s China is established in Shanghai, one of the world’s most important, dynamic, and modern economic hubs, the financial and commercial heart of Asia. The Chinese branch is the latest achievement in time, but crucial for the development of the broad Asian market. After consolidating its footprint for 10 years in such key markets as Korea and Japan, Bric’s has most recently entered the South-East Asian market, specifically Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand. Through collaborations with local partners and distributors, Bric’s opens shops and corners in important locations, such as Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Seoul.

2012

Bric’s celebrates its 60^th anniversary with the motto “Made in Bric’s”, which reflects the cultural identity of an Italian company. Made in Bric’s does not just refer to the geographic location of the company, but also to the genius, the Italian know-how that produces an idea, an utterly unique style. With its organization, Bric’s ensures compliance with its traditions, both when producing in Italy and in other countries. This is why our best guarantee is “Made in Bric’s”.