Yarn producer Filpucci forecasts 5% growth in 2026, driven by France

Consistently solid financial results characterised fiscal 2025 for Filpucci, one of Italy’s leading producers of fancy and classic carded yarns for high-end knitwear and needlework. The company is based in Capalle di Campi Bisenzio, in the long-established yarn manufacturing district of Prato, near Florence. 

Speaking to FashionNetwork.com, Federico Gualtieri, president of Filpucci after taking the helm from founder Leandro Gualtieri, his father, said that “Filpucci has four product lines: The Collection line of high-end fancy worsted yarns; the Diffusion line of mid-market fancy yarns, again using a worsted base; Woollen Selection, a carded yarns line in the classic Prato tradition, chiefly featuring wool and cashmere blends; and the needlework line, called Tricot Studio, for hand-knitting and crochet.”

Gualtieri was satisfied with Filpucci’s participation at Pitti Filati 99, the Florentine yarn show’s latest edition. “We’re happy, given the general situation. The Pitti shows we remember, before the pandemic, were very different, with a greater presence of foreign buyers, especially coming from Asia. The market has completely changed now, and we hardly saw any buyers from China, Hong Kong, Japan or South Korea. None whatsoever from China, a country that is now closed off. When Xi Jinping ‘suggests’ you buy Chinese, it’s actually not a suggestion, but an order,” said Gualtieri, his eyebrows raised. “So cars have to be Chinese, and fashion too – and you make it with Chinese, not Italian yarns. Current figures for Italian textile exports to China are disastrous. We’re exporting to China to produce for American and European brands, not for the local market, whose companies are more competitive price-wise, and they’re local of course, so they’re endorsed by the central government,” he added.

Four years ago, Filpucci rented 100-square-metre premises right in the heart of Paris, at 18 rue des Pyramides, home to its showroom. “We’ve achieved the revenue targets we’d set ourselves when we opened the [Paris] office, growing our business in France from €5 million to €13 million. The showroom is working extremely well, more so than expected,” said Gualtieri. “To continue generating this kind of revenue we must maintain a strong presence on the market, so the news is that in March we ended up buying the premises on rue des Pyramides,” he added.

In 2025, Filpucci recorded €44 million in revenue. The forecast for fiscal 2026 is to reach €47 million, up 5% despite a highly complex global context.

Filpucci has 200 leading clients it serves regularly, accounting for 80% of revenue, out of an active client base of 500. The company is well set up to produce small batches too, even only one bobbin per client.

Filpucci’s main market is France, followed by the USA, the top market until six years ago. They’re followed by the needlework segment, then Northern Europe, with Norway in the lead, followed by Germany.

“For the segment we define as industrial, our main market is France, followed by the USA in second place and Italy in third. Sadly, Italy is doing less well than other markets, and this is partly due to decisions made by Italian brands, which I think are less well-prepared than the French,” said Gualtieri.

In 2022, Filpucci bought a 70% stake in Valfilo, a carded wool specialist founded 50 years ago and based in Vaiano, near Prato. Filpucci also owns Prato-based dyeing specialist Fiordiluce. “Both companies do sub-contracting work. They generate approximately 54% of their revenue with Filpucci, the rest from other companies in our sector,” said Gualtieri. Filpucci also incorporates a spinning works, with 92 employees. Adding 30 people working at Fiordiluce and 30 at Valfilo, the group has approximately 150 employees in total. “We also own a 100% stake in a company in China, with 70 employees,” concluded Gualtieri.

For the Fall/Winter 2027-28, Filpucci drew its inspiration from the contemporary yearning to slow things down, to find a new equilibrium and a more authentic relationship with materials. The new collection was created as an invitation to look after ourselves. It features yarns with cocooning textures, soft volumes, uneven surfaces and artisanal details, evoking the natural imperfection of things. A soft, self-conscious aesthetic, where comfort turns into a language and yarn research translates into new opportunities for knitwear.