The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is of the oldest families of entrepreneurs and employs more than 7,000 staff worldwide. Zegna distributes its products in more than 80 countries and generates more than 88 per cent of its sales overseas. Cable & Wireless Europe, Asia and US is the UK-based business unit of the enterprise and carrier solutions provider.

Business-critical retail applications

Under the three-year, multi-million Euro contract, Cable & Wireless will provide and manage Zegna's global communications infrastructure, from Zegna's data centres in Dublin, Ireland, and Munich, Germany.

Cable & Wireless will migrate all of Zegna's retail branches on to its global Internet protocol virtual private network (IP VPN). This integrated, high-speed network gives Zegna a centralised view of all its business-critical retail applications including real-time stock and accounts information.

This is essential for enhanced management of Zegna's inventory across global markets including latest offers and the introduction of exclusive new clothing lines. Additionally, the flexible IP solution has been designed to add next-generation retail applications including digital signage and broadcast advertising across all Zegna stores.