Marco Boglione, founder and Chairman of the BasicNet Group, was born in Turin on the 9th of May 1956, the youngest of three brothers. His father Lorenzo was an insurance executive, and his mother Anna was an established businesswoman managing a successful interior design showroom. Marco Boglione showed a flare for business from an early age and his mother stimulated and nourished his entrepreneurial spirit from the start.
In 1974 he graduated at Istituto Filippin in Paderno del Grappa, where he had established a photography school – his first passion – and set up a small souvenir photo business. Thanks to this enterprise he earned his first million and a half liras when he was just 16 years old.
He returned to Turin and, to please his father, he enrolled at Turin’s Polytechnic, but soon left university.
In 1976 he met Maurizio Vitale in Sestriere, a young businessman who transformed his family’s business with brands Robe di Kappa and Jesus Jeans, leaders in the casualwear sector. Vitale got him a job: copywriter in a small advertising agency. Six months later he offered him a job at Maglificio Calzificio Torinese.
After working night shifts in the weaving department, Boglione started to climb the ladder: in 1978 he convinced Maurizio Vitale to open the company’s sportswear division with the Robe di Kappa Sport brand, later simplified into Kappa; in 1981 – when he was just 25 years old – he was made director of sales and marketing.
Over the coming years he discovered a second interest: computers; a passion that would provide the foundation for BasicNet’s business model.
In 1983, on the advice of Maurizio Vitale himself, who was seriously ill at the time, Marco Boglione left Maglificio Calzificio Torinese and founded Football Sport Merchandise with Luciano Antonino, the first European company licensed to produce and market leisurewear and accessories with the brand, colors and logos of the most important football teams.
The following year, in 1984, Boglione and his first wife Daniela Ovazza founded Mototaxi, a company which would be sold to the Italian Mail Service in 1999.
Football Sport Merchandise developed and grew until, in 1994, Boglione and Maglificio Calzificio Torinese’s paths crossed again. Seven years after Maurizio Vitale’s untimely death, the Group declared bankruptcy. Football Sport Merchandise purchased the company’s brands, estate and assets at an auction held on October 28th, 1994.
BasicNet was born from the ashes of Maglificio Calzificio Torinese: all the same brands, but a different business model. It was no longer a textiles company, but a network of independent entrepreneurs connected to each other and to the holding by Internet. A network of partners licensed to produce or distribute worldwide the collections designed by the holding, current owner of the Kappa, Robe di Kappa, Jesus Jeans, K-Way, Superga, Briko, and Sebago brands.
As he breathed new life into these brands Marco Boglione transformed the old factory into a modern village. BasicVillage stands on 22 thousand square meters meeting mankind’s three basic needs: home, work and leisure.
During his career as an entrepreneur, Boglione has also held a number of institutional posts.
He was a member of the Council for Relations between Italy and the United States from 1995 to 2019. Between 2000 and 2006 he was President of the Torino-Piemonte Film Commission and President of the Consultation Committee of the I Faculty of Architecture.
From 2003 to 2006 he presided over ITP (Agency for Investment in Turin and Piedmont), and in 2005 he joined the Board of Directors of the Piedmont Foundation for Cancer Research, where he was acknowledged as a Founder in 2019.
From 2010 to 2016 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Industrial Union of Torino and joined the General Council in 2016.
He served as president of the Piedmont Oncology Foundation from 2011 to 2017.
On the 2nd of June 2011 he was made Cavaliere del Lavoro by President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. In 2012 he was among the founding members of Fondazione Cavour and became its President on February 4th, 2020.
On the 25th of June 2014 Marco Boglione joined the Board of Gruppo Piemontese Cavalieri del Lavoro, and on 18 November 2019 he became its President after serving as Vice President since June 2017. The Assembly of Members of Gruppo Piemontese unanimously confirms him as President for the triennium 2020-2023 on June 22nd, 2020.
On the 5th of May 2016, in Montecitorio (seat of the Italian Parliament) he received the Guido Carli Award dedicated to the Italian excellences.
In June 2021 he’s entitled Director in the Board of Pro Infantia SpA, the company that manages the activities of Hospital Koelliker in Turin. In December 2021, he became an honorary member of the Agricultural Academy of Turin.
On February 23rd, 2022, the Santena town council – the city hosting the Camillo Cavour Foundation – made Boglione an honorary citizen “for his Santena roots, the constant promotion of Cavour’s thought, and the consequent enhancement of the Santena town”.
He has four children: Lorenzo and Alessandro, with his first wife Daniela Ovazza; Maria and Rocco with his second wife, Stella Lin Hung.
Currently, over 400 entrepreneurs worldwide are part of the BasicNet Group, present on more than 130 markets. In 2019 the aggregate sales of the Group exceeded 1 billion euros. BasicNet is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.
To those inquiring as to the secret of his success, Marco Boglione replies: «Time flies and the worst thing you can do is do things twice (…) it’s best to move slowly so you never have to go back on your own steps. (…) Slowly please, I’m in a hurry. That’s the way to do it!».
Marco Boglione‘s biography is updated to February 23rd, 2022