Morris Profumi: a €100M fragrance house entered liquidation in 2020

Morris Profumi was founded in Parma, Italy in 1946, shortly after the Second World War, and grew into a respected contract manufacturer of fragrances, colognes, scented oils, toiletries, detergents and cosmetics. At its peak around 2012, the company generated approximately €100 million in annual revenue and employed 130 people, with offices in Russia, Germany, France and Dubai. It produced fragrances for its own brands — Morris, Gocce di Napoleon — and for third parties including Krizia, Atkinsons and I Coloniali.

The decline began when the founding family sold the business to Henkel, the German chemical and consumer goods multinational. Henkel later sold the company to a series of private equity funds. Each change of ownership brought a different operating logic, and the management turnover eroded the company's commercial relationships and operational focus. By the time of its liquidation filing, revenue had fallen to approximately €60 million.

On February 5, 2020, Morris Profumi entered liquidation proceedings at the Parma tribunal. All four international offices had already been closed. Approximately 130 employees lost their jobs. The company's brands Atkinsons and I Coloniali were sold to EuroItalia during the liquidation.

In response, about 30 former employees — 85% of them women — formed a workers' buyout cooperative called Nuovi Profumi di Roncopascolo. They used Italy's Naspi unemployment benefit scheme to raise initial capital, with support from Legacoop, CFI, Coopfond and Banca Etica. The cooperative was established on July 20, 2020 and began operations on September 7, 2020. By 2026, it had grown to 52 employees and approximately €8 million in annual revenue, producing private-label fragrances and contract manufacturing.