NEW YORK—Scalamandré, the uptown jobber known worldwide for its printed fabrics since 1929,  is breathing new life into its business through the licensing of finished products under the leadership of Louis Renzo, Owner/Chairman, and Steven Stolman, President. 

On May 1, Scalamandré moved from its flagship showroom on Third Avenue to a leased space at Stark Carpet where it will have 2,500 square feet. Contrary to what many might think, Renzo said that Scalamandré never owned the freestanding building it called home. Lou Renzo CEO and Steven Stolman, President of Scalamandré

Renzo is acting as his own licensing agent and is actively looking for other licensing deals where he can leverage his intellectual assets, a legendary design archive and brand. “I am told we have the best iconic prints in the business and a design archive filled with history.”

So far, Eastern Accents, the Chicago bedding manufacturer has launched the Scalamandré bedding line. Lenox China has produced a special  Scalamandré china line featuring the Scalamandré trademarked  Zebra logo that was originally developed for Gino’s, the famous New York restaurant which featured zebra wallpaper designed by Scalamandré. If Renzo has his way, more finished home products will be licensed with the Scalamandré brand. “Think Zebra, think Scalamandré,” Renzo said.

“At its high point, Scalamandré generated $50 million in sales in 2,000 and I think we can do better than that by putting the Scalamandré Zebra logo on everybody’s shirt,” he said. “Scalamandré should be a household name in finished goods.

Renzo bought the venerable fabric house in 2009 and looked for management help in the form of  Stolman who joined in 2011; Stefan Lasek, as sales manager and Albert Sardelli as chief designer.  Sardelli and Renzo attended Proposte together this year looking for “jewels,” Renzo said. Scalamandré buys 30 percent of its line from Italy; 30 percent from France and the rest from the USA. Renzo has no formal training in textiles or design. In fact, he’s the first to proudly say his education started on the streets of Brooklyn with a high school degree from Midwood High School and the rest is history.

Before his accountant told him about Scalamandré, Renzo had a series of successful companies including a 24 hour checks cashing service with 32 outlets and the fifth largest armored car service in the USA. He sold both companies successfully. He likes two things, work and golf. He admits to a 14 handicapped but lately, he doesn’t have the time he needs to bring that handicap down a few strokes.

But nothing he did prepared him well enough for Scalamandré’s turnaround. He’s already invested well into seven figures getting it up and running after he purchased the note from a bank and took it out of bankruptcy from the third generation owners, the Bitter family.

Stolman is a respected designer himself with previous positions held at top fashion houses like Valentino Studio, Pauline Trigere and Albert Nipon. In 1993, helped revive the Lilly Pulitzer label and now he’s turning his attention to doing the same thing for Scalamandré.

Recently, Renzo brought one of his two sons into the business, 27 year old Louis N (Nicholas)   in a sales capacity to insure Scalamandré’s future continuity in the Renzo family. Renzo wants to keep the business going and has no plans to sell it. He doesn’t know the meaning of quit and is intent in making Scalamandré on top of its game once again.