The Argentine polo and lifestyle brand La Martina is laying the groundwork for a new phase of accelerated international growth by entering into a strategic partnership with BWM, a company specialising in branded apparel manufacturing and supply‑chain solutions that is part of the Chinese sourcing and end‑to‑end supply‑chain giant Li & Fung, which, having been founded in 1906, is marking its 120th anniversary with this partnership.
“With BWM, we have launched a partnership based on the idea of having a strong industrial partner that can raise our quality to a world‑class level,” Adrian Simonetti, owner and president of La Martina and son of the founder, Lando, tells FashionNetwork.com.
“This long-term partnership combines La Martina’s heritage and creative vision with BWM’s manufacturing expertise and Li & Fung’s global supply‑chain management capabilities, with La Martina retaining creative direction and BWM overseeing product development, sourcing, production and supply‑chain management for our brand.”
“The key to this collaboration is that La Martina is a company with a strong cultural heritage that wants to industrialise its products; we at BWM need to provide La Martina with access to our global manufacturing and sourcing platform, expanding the brand’s operational flexibility and production capacity,” adds Milad Fini, CEO of BWM.
“We’ll need to be adept at maintaining scale while preserving the core artisanal identity that La Martina is building. The company has a global presence, and we’ll seek to leverage our size to amplify it and help it grow. What we’ll bring them is a single point of contact with our global manufacturing network, which spans 30 countries.”
BWM’s network of manufacturing facilities allows it to optimise production by category and market, improving efficiency, resilience and competitiveness. Its production capabilities span China, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Turkey, Egypt and Peru. Fini expects the agreement to significantly improve the speed at which La Martina products reach the market, with sampling in just seven days and full-scale production within about three weeks. Lead times will be reduced from approximately 75 to 30 days, enabling a faster response to demand, more frequent restocking and better inventory management.
The partnership also benefits from the reach and expertise of Li & Fung (headquartered in Hong Kong and part of the Fung Group), whose global sourcing and manufacturing infrastructure will support the brand’s international ambitions while preserving the distinctive identity that has made La Martina a recognised name in the polo lifestyle world.
“We want to work increasingly with companies like La Martina,” adds Destan Bezmen, chairman of Li & Fung and chairman of the board of directors of BWM.
“We love the fact that it’s a family-owned brand with a rich heritage and a strong focus on sport. What we’re trying to do at Li & Fung, as we look towards the younger generation, is focus squarely on sport, but also on wellbeing. These approaches align very well with what La Martina produces. The idea is to scale the brand so it becomes one of tomorrow’s major brands. Growing together through this partnership is what we’re striving to achieve.”
The wellbeing trend—the pursuit of wellbeing, to which sport contributes significantly—is thriving, as is the trend surrounding the aesthetics of polo, not only among older people but also among young people. “That’s true,” confirms the president and owner of La Martina.
“Polo is a niche sport, but it’s also global. We will always remain true to our DNA rooted in traditional craftsmanship. We still make saddles, breeches and all the polo equipment strictly by hand.”
Simonetti reveals that La Martina “will open stores in various regions. Globally, the brand now has 156 single-brand stores in 40 countries, while its wholesale presence spans 50 countries.
“We want to move forward, not only in terms of the amount of retail space we open, but also through a careful selection of countries,” says the owner. “For example, we can explore ways to jointly expand distribution in Asia, given that Li & Fung alone has 16 offices in China, as well as an extensive distribution network across Asian countries,” adds Bezmen.
“In India, where we work with Reliance and are present across 120 wholesale accounts, we’ll reach 26 standalone stores by the end of the year, but India is one of those countries with a deep-rooted polo culture. They have a rich heritage dating back to the time of the Maharajas, and that’s where we’re looking to grow,” Simonetti adds. “This partnership will expand our vision of how we want to evolve in South‑East Asia, where we have had only a limited presence in the past, so I believe that region will be our next big thing.”
BWM will collaborate with the La Martina team to produce various capsule collections, tailored to the specific characteristics of each market. These initiatives—such as those with Supreme for Spring/Summer 2026 (which sold out almost immediately) and with Brooks Brothers for Spring/Summer 2027—will form one of the brand’s future strategies, ensuring a wide variety of creative opportunities for La Martina.
“We’re already exploring which new partnerships to finalise,” confirms Fini. “Here too, we’ll leverage our global network to find the right partners in different regions.”
“We’ll also be working with major luxury companies. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that we’re sponsors and suppliers for over 70 polo events worldwide, including the upcoming World Cup in September,” concludes Simonetti.
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