CFO Corner: Nicola Perin, OVS

Since its public listing on Euronext in 2015, Nicola Perin has served as CFO of Italian mass-market clothing retailer OVS. Previously, he was CFO of the conglomerate Grupo COIN, from which OVS was carved out. OVS operates brands including OVS, Upim, Golden-point, Stefanel, CROFF, and Les Copains, managing a network of 2,600 stores in Italy and abroad.

Global Finance: Over your 10 years guiding OVS’ finances, what are you most proud of doing?

Nicola Perin: What makes me proudest, though not because it is the most difficult task, is that I’ve always kept the machine running smoothly. For a CFO, whether in a listed or private company, nothing is more fundamental than a reliable administrative system: one that produces accurate information, supports mandatory disclosures, and gives management the confidence to make sound decisions. Without that foundation, any other achievement—no matter how ambitious—would have been far less certain.

Among the results I value most, one stands out. In 2014, our CEO, Stefano Beraldo, and I decided to spin off OVS-Upim from the Coin Group to prepare it for listing. It proved to be an extremely successful operation, providing OVS with the financial resources needed for a new phase of growth: expanding our network, increasing volumes, and strengthening our brand portfolio. It laid the financial and managerial groundwork for the significant expansion that followed.

GF: And more recently?

Perin: We have always paid close attention to sustainability. Apparel retail is considered the second most polluting industry after energy, and although we are far smaller than global groups like Inditex, H&M, or Gap, we have always taken these issues very seriously. 

Our commitment has often placed us among the leaders, if not always at the very top, and it has also created tangible financial value. In 2022, I proposed and led the issuance of Italy’s first sustainability-linked bond [SLB]. It was a significant milestone; it secured highly attractive financing at a fixed 2.25% and strengthened our market profile. At the time—between 2022 and 2024—sustainability was a dominant theme, and limited supply meant strong demand from investors looking to add green-labeled products to their portfolios. We planned to raise €120 million; we raised €160 million.

GF: Is sustainability still important, given the current political climate?

Perin: Trends aside, the next time we issue a bond—whenever that may be—I will still aim to highlight the company’s sustainability progress. Interest may not be as strong as it was a few years ago, but I believe a sustainability-linked bond remains the right choice for OVS, because it makes our commitment transparent.

An SLB requires us to define clear ESG targets and undergo third-party verification midway through the bond’s life. If we are not on track, the cost of the bond increases. For example, the coupon would rise from 2.25% to 2.45%. In other words, the cost of financing is directly linked to how effectively we deliver on our improvement path.

GF: How deeply are you incorporating AI in the finance function?

Perin: In administrative processes, we rely more on robotics than on AI. By robotics, I mean software that automates repetitive tasks that colleagues once handled step by step. There is some digital intelligence involved, but it’s essentially process automation. A simple example is the DURC check in Italy—verifying that suppliers are up to date on their social security, insurance, and construction fund contributions—which we now execute through robotic processes.

In management control and financing, however, AI is becoming increasingly useful. It helps us write clearer, faster commentary and perform more detailed analyses; work that would take a person eight hours can be multiplied with AI.

But the real frontier for us is in predictive sales. For OVS, Stefanel, Goldenpoint, and all our brands, AI has been supporting forecasting for years. We all know that coats sell earlier in Bolzano than in Palermo, but AI goes much further; it tells us how many to ship, which sizes, how early to move from cotton to wool blends, and what items to substitute when stock runs out. It takes simple, intuitive patterns and transforms them into hundreds of thousands of variables, allowing us to make far more precise decisions.