Bally is a Swiss luxury fashion house, founded as "Bally & Co." in 1851 by Carl Franz Bally and his brother Fritz.
History
Bally was founded by Carl Franz Bally and his brother Fritz in the basement of their family home in Schönenwerd in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. The original family business was the manufacture of elastic ribbon. During a business trip to Paris in 1849, Carl Franz wanted to buy his wife some lace-up booties - the popular shoe of the day. Unable to recall her exact size, he decided to buy twelve pairs in a range of sizes, knowing that one would certainly fit. Upon visiting the Parisian factory where the booties were made, he noticed that each shoe featured buttons with elastic closures similar to the kind his family produced in Switzerland. Inspired by the possibility of creating more jobs and improving the lives of local residents, he decided to expand his business into shoe production. Together with his brother Fritz, Carl Franz employed designers to assist and they began producing shoes made entirely by hand in the cellar of his Schönenwerd home. The Bally Company was established in Schönenwerd in 1851 and three years later the first factory located in the village centre was built. In 1854, Fritz Bally retired. By the 1870s, Bally was recognised as a footwear industry leader. The company’s name changed to C. F. Bally, and then to C. F. Bally & Sons when the brand’s founding pioneer handed the company reins to his sons in 1892. Carl Franz died in 1899 but undeniably passed on his pioneering spirit to his sons. Bally grew internationally and opened stores in Geneva, in Buenos Aires, followed by Paris and London. In the 1980s, Bally was also one of the very first European luxury goods brands to open in post-reform and opening China. By now the brand had also extended its offering to include clothing, handbags and leather goods for both men and women, and in 1990 would become truly global, opening in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Lebanon and Turkey. Bally is currently under the leadership of CEO Frédéric de Narp, with Pablo Coppola as Design Director and parent company JAB Holdings at the helm. In 2008 TPG Capital sold Bally International AG to Vienna, Austria-based Labelux Group, a luxury goods holding firm which also owns Jimmy Choo Ltd. and was founded by the German billionaire Reimann family as part of the family’s investment arm Joh A. Benckiser. Headquartered in Caslano, Ticino, Switzerland, the company announced that Frédéric de Narp, a former executive at Harry Winston, would become its chief executive officer in November 2013. In February 2018 owner JAB Holding Company agreed to sell a majority controlling stake to Chinese materials conglomerate Shandong Ruyi.
Bally House in Schönenwerd has been built by architect Karl Moser. As most of the employees of Bally factory were coming from the nearby villages and had a longer working way, it was important for the owners to provide the possibility of healthy food. At first a small cantine was built in 1879, and then in 1915 it was decided to build a bigger building in the middle of the park. Karl Moser has built a two-story classic building that included cantine for the employees, as well as the rooms for the employees, showers and bathrooms. Among the peoplethe house was named Parkhotel. Nowadays the building and the park around is under the protection of canton and is being used for different events.
