ROME (Reuters) – Italian luxury group Dolce&Gabbana has set up a new company to directly manage the development, production and sale of its perfumes and cosmetics, Chief Executive Alfonso Dolce said on Monday.

It is the first time an Italian luxury company has brought in-house a multimillion-dollar business. This is crucial for many fashion houses, but is often done through licensing.

Dolce stated that they are currently examining a model for a partnership or tie-up with their producers.

The move is part of an “end-to-end strategy” that aims to promote, consolidate and cultivate Italian manufacturing and artifact excellence.

In an effort to increase their product range and expand their customer base, fashion brands have always expanded into luxury beauty products.

Dec. saw the termination of a license agreement with Shiseido, a Japanese company that makes cosmetics.

Dolce stated that the new company will be launched with capital between 200 and 250 million euros (514.44 Million). This amount can be self-financed or supported by the banking system.

The company will have 130 to 150 employees in Italy, and another 100-120 overseas.

Dolce is the president while Gianluca Toniolo, a former executive at LVMH, will take over as CEO.

Toniolo told L’Economia the retail value of Dolce&Gabbana’s beauty business was worth just over 1 billion euros, with perfumes accounting for the majority.

The new company’s goal was to “double or triple its market share” in perfume, strengthen the position of make-up and create skincare products. This is still not the case for the group.

($1 = 0.8747 euros)