UK Designer Parfums has acquired the fragrance licence of the Cerruti 1881 brand, chairman/CEO Dilesh Mehta has announced.

Nino Cerruti founded the brand in Paris in 1967, which is known for its quality products in the world of fashion, accessories and fragrance.

Cerruti 1881 executive VP Laurent Grosgogeat says scents have been a major category for the brand in the past 40 years. When the Cerruti brothers founded the house in Biella, Italy, in 1881, they were known for making quality wools and textiles.

Twenty-year-old Nino Cerruti took up the baton in the 1950s and in 1967 founded Cerruti 1881 with its focus on men’s ready to wear. Today, the brand has nearly 100 directly run stores globally and is stocked by leading retailers.

It launched its first fragrance in 1978, and since April 2011 has been part of Hong Kong-based Trinity Limited, which specialises in high-end men’s pret a porter. Jason Basmajian was appointed chief creative officer in October 2015.

Designer Parfums offers a range of premium fragrances and beauty products either wholly owned or run under licence. Covering more than 80 countries, its portfolio includes such brands as Aigner Parfums, Ghost, Jean Patou and Jean-Louis Scherrer.