moleskine

In the mid-1990s, Maria Sebregondi pitched the idea of resurrecting the iconic notebooks to the company Modo & Modo, despite the shelves of stationery stores already being stocked with blank books at the time.{{cite web | url=http://europe.newsweek.com/resurrecting-moleskine-notebooks-67817?rm=eu | title=Resurrecting Moleskine Notebooks | publisher=Newsweek | date=6 December 2004 | accessdate=28 January 2016 | author=Harkin, James}} As a result, Modo & Modo trademarked the Moleskine brand and began production of 5,000 notebooks, officially reintroducing them in 1997.{{cite book|author=David Sax|title=The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dDbXCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT34|date=8 November 2016|isbn=978-1-61039-572-4|pages=34–}}

By 1998, Modo & Modo were producing 30,000 notebooks a year and expanded their market, distributing their products across Europe. By 2000 Modo & Modo SpA had an office with a small staff and sales of €20M ($26M) in Milan. In 2004, Moleskine notebooks were exported to Japan, and from there, distribution to Asia began.

In 2006, the company was purchased by the European private equity firm now known as Syntegra Capital. At that time, it was reported that the company’s small staff was unable to keep up with demand. In August 2006, the French investment fund Société Générale Capital purchased Modo & Modo SpA, and invested in its expansion. The company name changed to Moleskine Srl.

By July 2012, Moleskine collections were distributed in 22,000 stores across 95 countries. In March 2013 the company announced an IPO at the Borsa Italiana. Moleskine became a joint-stock company and is now Moleskine SpA; it is still headquartered in Milan.

At the end of September 2016, the Belgian investment group D'Ieteren acquired a 41% stake in Moleskine. After having launched a public takeover offer on the remaining shares of the company, D'Ieteren crossed the 95% threshold, which gives it the right to launch a squeeze out procedure in order to gain full control of Moleskine. D'Ieteren's intention is to delist Moleskine from the Milan Stock Exchange.{{Cite web|url=https://www.trend-online.com/ansa/moleskinerevoca-delle-azioni-ordinarie-dalla-quotazione-262515/|title=Moleskine: revoca delle azioni ordinarie dalla quotazione|website=Trend Online|access-date=2020-03-27}}

File:Moleskine - 01.jpg

Moleskine's notebooks are based on notebooks distributed in Paris during the 19th and 20th centuries, handmade by small French bookbinders who supplied the local stationery shops around the turn of the 20th century. They are fashioned after author Bruce Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used.{{cite web |title=What's The Deal With Moleskine? |url=https://unsharpen.com/whats-the-deal-with-moleskine/ |website=Unsharpen.com |publisher=Unsharpen.com |access-date=12 May 2021}} Moleskine items are designed in Italy with most of them being printed, stitched and assembled in China. Since 2008, some components have been manufactured in Volant, Cahiers and Folio hard covers in Turkey, watercolour paper in France, and some components in Vietnam. The paper used in Moleskine products is Forest Stewardship Council certified and acid-free. Since August 2010, all Moleskine products, offered to retailers in California and throughout the world, comply with the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. After concerns in 2008 about PVC traces in some notebooks, all items are now PVC-free.

Moleskine manufactures device covers that emulate the trademarked notebooks.{{cite web | url=http://www.tablet2cases.com/news/2012/07/moleskine-provides-the-ipad-cover-up-with-its-new-tablet-case/ | title=Moleskine Provides the iPad Cover Up With its New Tablet Case | date=2 July 2012 | accessdate=28 January 2016}}

In August 2012, Moleskine partnered with Evernote to produce a digital-friendly notebook with specially designed pages and stickers for smartphone syncing.[https://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/10/20/evernote-moleskine-review/ "Evernote Moleskine notebook review: When digital and analog elegantly collide"], The Next Web, 20 October 2012.

In October 2012, Moleskine forayed into print on demand with Moleskine Photo Books, a collaboration with MILK Books that lets users upload their own photos into a Moleskine notebook-style photo book.[https://gizmodo.com/5948389/moleskine-and-milks-personalized-photo-books-are-unsurprisingly-sleek "Moleskine and Milk’s Personalized Photo Books Are Unsurprisingly Sleek"] Gizmodo.com, 2 October 2012.

In 2016, Moleskine launched The Smart Writing Set with Evernote and Livescribe. The notebook costs approximately $200 and is able to automatically transfer notes from the notebook onto a laptop or smartphone.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/04/review-moleskine-smart-writing-set/|title=Review: Moleskine Smart Writing Set|last=Alba|first=Davey|author-link=Davey Alba|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-02-03|language=en-US}}

Timepage is a mobile planner and calendar app developed by Moleskine. It organizes events from calendars on mobile devices and syncs information, contact info, and weather forecasting. The app includes a Heat map calendar and timeline, and has included access to Uber.

The Moleskine brand is supported by worldwide communities of enthusiasts who write, sketch, paint and draw on Moleskine notebooks. Communities often share images of decorated pages through blogs, social networks or photo and video sharing sites as well as Moleskine's own service "MyMoleskine", through which customers can interact with company staff.{{cite news | url=http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2007/id20070511_717359.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513024400/http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2007/id20070511_717359.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 May 2007 | title=Moleskine Blogs the Little Black Book | work=Business Week | date=11 May 2007 | accessdate=25 April 2012 | author=Walters, Helen}}

In early 2018, the company announced that it would be opening up Moleskine cafés in major cities such as Beijing, London, New York and Hamburg.{{cite web |title=Moleskine Cafe |url=https://it.moleskine.com/it/moleskine-cafe |website=IT.Moleskine.com |access-date=12 May 2021}} The first café was opened in Milan, where the company is originally from.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2018/01/25/moleskine-cafes-around-the-world/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329222641/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2018/01/25/moleskine-cafes-around-the-world/|archive-date=2019-03-29|title=Stationery lovers can now visit Moleskine Cafés around the world|last=O'Brien|first=Niamh|date=25 January 2018|publisher=Lonely Planet|language=en|access-date=2018-02-03}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Moleskine}}

• {{official|https://www.moleskine.com}}
• [http://lifeandtimes.com/write-and-exact Write and Exact] an interview with Moleskine CEO
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170816125159/http://corporate.moleskine.com/en/investor-relations/financial-information/financial-reports Financial Reports] - company Investors information

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Category:Manufacturing companies based in Milan

Category:Stationery

Category:2013 initial public offerings