MADINA MILANO

BRAND AND FASHION DESIGNER ,   M

MADINA MILANO COSMETIC BRAND FOUNDED BY MADDALENA COLOMBO

Maddalena Colombo, founder of the Madina Milano brand.

“After the Human Sciences high school I got pregnant and I got married. Matteo arrived, and shortly after Sibilla. I was only 18 and my life changed completely. I took all the creativity, the attraction for shapes, styles and colours and the passion for theatre from my father. Who is a journalist and theatre director. This is why, after the school of graphic art in Brera I worked in the theatre for more than 10 years. From small experimental and avant-garde theaters to the direction office of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

The professional turning point coincided with the encounter with my second husband Dario Ferrari (they have a son, Gianandrea). He has a leading company in the production of cosmetics, Intercos based in Agrate, and I wanted to try to see if the long experience in the theatre could have a commercial outlet.

AND SO, PARTLY FOR OPPORTUNITY AND PARTLY FOR FUN

And so, partly for opportunity and partly for fun, the first line of Madina Milano was born. Along with the idea of a shop in Bergamo. Today there are three stores in Milan and it’s surely no longer a pastime. The only problem is that I have very little time to dedicate to my seven grandchildren!”. The business represented a challenge, almost a game. She decided to put herself in “competition” with her husband and she started her line of cosmetics.

The success was immediate. In a short time the Madina Milano brand opened three stores. Notably, one in New York in the heart of Soho, one in Tokyo. Also one obviously in Milan and at a later time in Paris. There are more than 1800 products, among eye shadows, glosses, face powders, lipsticks, brushes, and three or four new ones are invented every month.

Madina Milan

MADINA MILANO TODAY AFTER 17 YEARS

Gruppo Percassi, already present in the cosmetic sector with Kiko, signed an agreement with Intercos, Italian company active in the production of coloured make-up, for the sale of the “Madina”, “Madina Revolution” and “Madina C” brands and 20 Italian and foreign stores, both owned and franchised.

This is in line with its business model, which provides for the creation of cosmetic products (such as lipsticks, eye shadows, mascara, foundations and powders). Significantly, for the main international operators and not for the distribution of brands.

Intercos decided to sell the business created 17 years ago as an experiment, once it found the right buyer for the operation.

Madina Milan

THE COMPANY

The company, which has 3 factories in Italy and 8 abroad (in Switzerland, the United States, China, Malaysia and soon also in Brazil), operates throughout the value chain of the production of cosmetics, and stands out for its innovation ability: 460 people – about 15% of the Group’s 3,183 employees – are, in fact, dedicated to R&D activities in research centres in Italy, in the United States and in China.

Madina stores around the world cover not only Europe, but also Japan, Mexico, Qatar, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The brand has turned its recently renovated stores into “self-beauty” places. Where beauty is the protagonist. In the stores, both the Madina Milano Classic Line and the Revolution Line with unreleased innovative products are available at affordable prices.

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