MILAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - An Italian court has ended

early special administration imposed on a unit of the Armani

fashion group over labour practices of its Chinese-owned

subcontractors, it said on Tuesday, because the company had

taken all the necessary corrective action.

Giorgio Armani Operations, described as the industrial arm

of the Armani group, was placed under court administration for a

year in April after an investigation found it had subcontracted

work in Italy to Chinese-owned companies that exploited workers.

Over the past 10 months, the company has adopted the

required organisational model and supplier control procedures,

the Milan court said in a statement.

"In detail, the fashion house resolved relationships with

'at-risk' suppliers extremely quickly and also developed several

best practices that received court approval," the judges said.

According to the April ruling, Giorgio Armani Operations had

outsourced the production of bags, belts and leather goods to

two companies, which in turn subcontracted the work to four

Chinese companies with workshops on the outskirts of Milan.

Giorgio Armani Operations welcomed the ruling and said that

two of its numerous suppliers "betrayed the founding values ​​of

the Armani Group, which has never pursued profit as an end in

itself and has never waived respect for workers and consumers".

"As also highlighted in the revocation decision, the company

already had a structured and tested system of controls and

protection of its supply chain", it said in a statement.

In October, the Milan court had lifted the judicial

administration imposed on the Alviero Martini fashion brand in

January 2024.

In addition to Alviero Martini and Armani, judges had also

placed an Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH

, which makes Dior-branded handbags, under the same

form of special administration, again for lack of control over

its supply chain.

The case on LVMH is still ongoing, having started months

later.

Investigations by Italian magistrates, in particular the

Milan prosecutor's office, over the last year have uncovered

alleged exploitation of workers in the fashion and luxury supply

chain.

Milan's Court of Justice proposed in June a nationwide

scheme for luxury companies to step up checks on suppliers to

ensure they comply with labour laws.