Italian eyewear maker Safilo Group SpA said it ended its licensing deal with influencer Chiara Ferragni, who is mired in a controversy over charity donations.
The Padua-based company terminated the agreement, citing the “violation of contractual commitments,” according to a statement on its website.
It didn’t provide further details on the reasons for canceling the deal. An agreement to design, manufacture and distribute Ferragni’s eyewear collection was first announced in September 2021.
Italy’s competition authority fined Ferragni’s companies more than €1 million ($1.1 million) last week for unfair commercial practices. The decision is related to the sale of Ferragni-branded cakes to fund a children’s hospital in Turin last year. The authority found that the influencer misled consumers as the manufacturer had already made a fixed donation to the hospital before the launch of the initiative.
By Luca Casiraghi and Alberto Brambilla
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