Over a year go, Tod’s executive Diego Della Valle announced plans to donate €25 million, or about $31 million, to restore the Colosseum in Rome (the Italian government had been fishing around for a corporate sponsor, since they couldn’t afford upkeep costs themselves). Della Valle subsequently urged other Italian fashion houses to join his efforts to restore Italian landmarks, with some success: Bulgari, Prada, and a foundation run by PPR’s François Pinault have all pledged money to revamp various churches and historic Italian buildings. Even Diesel pitched in to fix up a bridge in Venice.
But now it appears that Tod’s plan may not work out. While it may seem odd that Italian authorities might refuse financial help at this point in time, apparently Tod’s proposed sponsorship has been poo-pooed by both Italy’s consumer protection organization (Codacons) and national antitrust authority. Yesterday, Codacons stated that they found Tod’s bit lacking in detailed projects in comparison to competing sponsors. Tod’s has yet to issue a comment on the matter.
