What Makes a Leading Licensee: SaborWhat Makes a Leading Licensee: Sabor

Italian fashion licensee speaks with License Global after it makes Leading Licensees Report for the first time.

McKenna Morgan, Content Editor

January 27, 2025

4 Min Read
Sabor
Sabor

In License Global's Leading Licensees Report, released in Nov. 2024, more than 350 manufacturers worldwide across 21 licensing categories made the list. These licensees made significant developments in the licensing business and will continue to push the industry forward in the coming years.  

One of the newest entries to the list is Sabor, an Italian fashion manufacturer with 20 years of licensing experience. We sat down with Giorgio Borzino, chief executive officer, Sabor, to learn more about what makes this rising star in licensing a Leading Licensee.  

License Global: For those unfamiliar with Sabor, what do you do as a company?

Giorgio Borzino: Sabor is an Italian company based in Milano, and we are a licensee for apparel, pajamas, underwear, accessories, swimwear and more. In Italy, we are a leader in the market for licensed product. We have around 50 active contracts with licensors, including Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Netflix, manga, music, some corporate brands and toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro – we have many licenses. We work with fashion retailers. We distribute to grocery stores, discount stores and wholesalers. We also work with some Italian premium brands.  

For all of them, we make dedicated collections. We have our creative team in-house, so we make dedicated collections so that there is no product overlap. We operate in Bangladesh, India, China, Turkey and Italy, depending on the segment.  

Related:Leading Licensees 2024

We have exhibited at Brand Licensing Europe for the last three years and will do our fourth BLE next year.  

You've told us about some of your licensed partnerships. What products are you the proudest of recently?

These are our babies, so it's difficult to tell if you have a preferred baby. Our main products are T-shirts, hoodies, pajamas and accessories. We work on products for ages 0 to 99, from babies to adults. For example, we make kids' pants, trousers and so on, which are innovative. With our know-how, we make many things for men and ladies as well, and we've developed swimwear and luggage recently.  

You made it to the Leading Licenses report for the first time in 2024. What has made Sabor so attractive to licensors who work with you?

We are experts in licensing, so we know how to handle licenses, and we have a lot of expertise. It helps the licensors because we know what we're talking about.  

We're 54 years old, and we started as a fashion company producing private labels for retailers, followed by licensing in 2004. We like to give everything a fashionable touch. We don't just copy and paste from style guides. We put a lot of creativity into our items and follow fashion trends. Then, as far as our business is concerned in Italy, we cover 90% of the market and export mainly to Europe.  If the licensor wants to enter Italy, we are the ones to work with because we have our reputation. We are a committed company.   

What advice would you give to others trying to become notable licensees in the licensing business?

Licensing is about storytelling. Don't concentrate only on the products and the price; try to be different when entering the brand. What can a brand mean for the fans and the consumers? What do you want to tell your customers? Get with the right brand. When you deal with fashion, you must wear the brand, so you must believe in it. We give a comprehensive look, not just focusing on garments but also accessories, suitcases and more. We are trying to help our customers with T-shirts by having them build a complete story with different products that will satisfy them, including impulse buys. You go into the official store to buy a T-shirt. Why not buy an accessory because you are a fan? We help our customers build up marketing activity together with the licensors. So again, it's about taking advantage of the popularity of the brands and not just the product displayed but building up a window or in-store materials, as well as commercial activity around it, because again, it's important for licensing.  

You mention Sabor exhibits at Brand Licensing Europe. How does this event help you achieve your overall goals as a licensee?

We exhibit at BLE because we need to become more well-known in Europe and internationally because our product reaches worldwide through our customers. Still, we are not known as a company, so allowing ourselves to be known internationally is important. 

About the Author

McKenna Morgan

Content Editor, License Global

McKenna Morgan is Content Editor for License Global. Based in the Santa Monica office, McKenna specializes in coverage involving non-profits, beauty and cosmetics, health and wellness, new and social media and entertainment licensing.

When McKenna isn’t covering the latest licensing news, she spends her time attending live music shows and finding her next travel destination.

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