MILAN — One of the OG gurus of streetwear and sportswear, Slam Jam’s Luca Benini has always been attuned to the pulse of the streets, oftentimes anticipating where youth culture would go next.

Throughout his career he has applied his intuition to his business, too, which has morphed several times already. Brand elevation is his new frontier, pivotal to recruit and be aligned with regional or global consumer niches.

Founded by Benini in 1989 as the first Italian company to distribute cool American and increasingly global streetwear brands in the country — think Carhartt WIP, Visvim, Alpha Industries, Stussy, Converse and Telfar — Slam Jam has evolved into a hub for partnerships, incubation of emerging brands, co-creation and events. This is in addition to a hip store network, with three doors, in Milan and Ferrara; a shop-in-shop at Beijing’s SKP-S; a hybrid retail space in New York, as well as an online presence through e-commerce.

The latest stage is a stronger focus on becoming the distribution partner and strategic consultant of choice for brands within Slam Jam’s value- and aesthetic-driven orbit.

As part of its new elevation consulting division, Slam Jam has sealed several deals already, including with Bluestar Alliance’s European partner Sportlux for Dickies distribution in Italy; Kontoor Brands for Wrangler Blue Bell and Lee 101 in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, as well as North America; Iconix for Umbro’s top-tier offering through a global consulting and licensing formula; VF Corp. for the strategy of Vans in the EMEA region and the design of the local Act of Disagreement apparel capsule collection, and Nike Inc. for Converse’s premium segment and Jordan’s special capsule collections in the EMEA region, as well as through a commercial partnership for Nike Sportswear in Italy and Greece kicking off for spring 2027. These are in addition to the existing tie-up with Authentic Brands for Reebok in North America, the U.K. and Europe, with a distributing licensing deal for the premium line, as well as a deal for Italy on the regular Reebok collections.

“These brands have a certain heritage, they are already visible and established, with incredible intrinsic qualities, but they still have untapped potential that we are helping to unlock,” Benini said. “That is very different from driving market penetration for entirely greenfield projects.”

The move can perhaps be seen as a signal of where contemporary and premium fashion with street cred and sportswear sensibility is headed.

“This is a broad, strategic vision around distribution — a return to working in a certain way. Over the past few years, by teaming with a wide range of partners, we were brought in for both consulting and commercial work. We started out as distributors back in the days but have always done much more than that,” Benini said.

“In recent years major brands have approached us for strategic consulting that then evolved into commercial partnerships. That element has become crucial to Slam Jam’s business development, without betraying the DTC dimension,” he added.

“The groups and counterparts we speak with have changed. New and emerging brands have given way to iconic brands that require regional or global support. This outlines a broad strategic direction: consulting is instrumental to the commercial side, no longer a stand-alone business,” Benini said. “Brands are looking for a partner with real skin in the game.”

That skin is not only business acumen but also Slam Jam’s and Benini’s ability to sense the pulse of the times and connect with communities.

“Once product stopped playing the central role in the conversation, community became the reason why brands we work with trust us. Because we are the ones who speak to people and interact with the consumers beyond the product itself,” Benini said.

“The strategic service we offer is brand elevation… which means association with talents, media presence, collaborations and presence in specific stores… We provide merchandising input and creative and design direction. For more local deals, we explore the opportunities in each region or country,” he explained.

He cited, for example, Wrangler’s denim, which has influenced generations around the world, or Nike’s Jordan brand’s potential beyond the basketball community.

“The goal is to enable these landmarks to fully express their potential… We work with a long-term mindset, which allows us to properly ground these projects,” he said.

Asked about the longer-term vision for Slam Jam’s “brand elevation” unit, the entrepreneur acknowledged the numerous challenges factoring in: market volatility, macroeconomic hurdles and geopolitical tensions.

“There is no stability. Limits to growth and expansion are dictated by externalities… [but] we keep moving forward… It is very difficult to make long-term plans beyond the contract terms themselves,” he said.

“Slam Jam’s ability to reinvent itself has always come from… our ability to keep finding ways to participate in the market and bring value. Consulting was not something that existed in the market in this form,” he said. “Our business model is extremely fluid and responds to the needs of a chaotic market. Chaos is order now.”

The unit already accounts for 60 percent of Slam Jam’s sales, while the remainder is generated by retail operations.

“Our retail is not performing badly, we’re in line with budgets, because we pulled back a little before the cliff edge,” Benini said, referencing a mindful approach to brand and product mix to offset the impact of slower fashion consumption that has plagued the industry since the end of the post-COVID-19 shopping euphoria.

The U.S., traditionally a strong online market, has scaled back in light of tariffs, the entrepreneur explained, with Europe taking up the leading position, followed by the U.K. and Asia. In the latter continent, Slam Jam plans to open a corner shop in Seoul to take advantage of demand in the South Korean capital.