Prada for sale, Chanel moves: the sensational rumor. And Made in Italy?
The rumor circulating in high fashion circles, coming from London and Paris, arrives in Milan on the very day in which the Prada catwalk celebrates the return of elegant classics, such as the management trench coat, double-breasted jacket and business lace-ups. It is rumored that advanced negotiations are underway to sell the group to an English private equity fund, somehow connected to the Wertheimers, the powerful French family that owns Chanel. It is said that a meeting was held before Christmas between representatives of the fund, Miuccia Prada, his son Lorenzo Bertelli, indicated as the dolphin designated to govern the brand by his father Patrizio, and a mysterious girl dressed in Alaìa. This news is reported by Il Giornale. On a negative note, the absence of CEO Andrea Guerra and Patrizio Bertelli, co-founder of the giant Made in Italy, for which the alleged English buyers would have offered 6 billion euros.
During the meeting the future of Prada was discussed, with the hypothesis that Miuccia Prada could continue to lead Miu Miu alone, while for Prada he will share the chair of creative director with Raf Simons. Regarding the size of the deal, Prada Group’s revenues in the first nine months of 2023 grew by 17% to 3.34 billion, with Miu Miu recording a 49% increase. In the event of a sale, Miuccia may want to hold on to the brand that bears his name in the family nickname, leaving the creative role of Prada to others. However, the hypothesis of creating a new brand was registered by her and sold exclusively in her historic shop opened by her grandfather Mario Prada in 1913 in Milan seems unlikely. It remains to be understood what happened to the idea of listing the brand on the Piazza Affari after its 2011 debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Recently, rumors have circulated that all major projects have been postponed to the second half of the year, including the dual listing on Piazza Affari. Rumors of a possible sale to Anglo-French investors are raising eyebrows in the fashion world, as the idea of Prada without Miuccia is difficult to conceive given the brand’s history. Prada Holding, the family holding company, currently holds more than 80% of the group’s shares, meaning that any decision will require unanimous consensus. In 2021, Patrizio Bertelli told Bloomberg: “I’m interested in buying, not selling.” Will he still be of the same opinion, considering the position of his wife Miuccia? The hypothesis that the buyer could be the Kering Group appears unlikely, as does that of the Richemont Group, which seems to lack the necessary experience in the fashion world to manage a brand like Prada. The LVMH Group remains in the game, despite negative contacts that occurred years ago. At the same time, the rumors about the interest of a large English fund seem credible, with the behind-the-scenes involvement of the Wertheimer-Chanel family.
Ultimately, one of the few Italian fashion houses to retain its independence was Ermenegildo Zegna. It entered Wall Street in December 2021 with the support of Andrea Bonomi’s Investindustrial and in the first nine months of last year it practically reached the same turnover as in 2022 (1.33 billion against 1.5 billion). But Zegna, together with Ferragamor, it is an exception in the panorama of Italian fashion and luxury, which is mostly in foreign hands, as reported by Il Giornale. France holds leadership with the giants LVMH and Kering, owners of renowned Made in Italy brands. The group of Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon, led by Bernard Arnault, has acquired numerous Italian luxury boutiques, from illustrious names such as Bulgari, Fendi, Emilio Pucci and Loro Piana to more niche ones such as Acqua di Parma and Berluti, as well as Pasticceria Cova on Via Montenapoleone, as well as 10% of Tod’s .
A multinational so impressive that it does not ignore emerging companies such as Off-White, of which it holds 60%, and Etro, controlled indirectly by the Arnault family through the L.Catterton private equity fund. The same scenario occurs with Kering, directed by François-Henri Pinault, who in less than thirty years has accumulated brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, Pomellato and Richard Ginori. Last summer it acquired 30% of Valentino from the Qatari fund Mayhoola. The explanation is clear when looking at the numbers: France is the second country for investments in Italy after the United States. It is no coincidence that the United States is present in Made in Italy luxury with the Tapestry-Capri Holding conglomerates, owner of Versace and competing with the two French giants, along with Bacardi, which owns Martini and Rossi, and Haworth, owner of Poltrona Frau.
The Swiss from Richemont boast brands such as Buccellati, Officine Panerai and Serapian. Asian tigers are no different: Coccinelle was purchased by the Korean giant E-Land in 2012, which had previously acquired Mandarina Duck in a period of difficulty. Krizia, a historic Italian fashion brand, came under the control of the Chinese Shenzhen Marisfrolg Fashion in 2014, while in 2021 Fosun purchased Sergio Rossi footwear for 60 million. In this context, the figures are significant, as most of these transactions rarely exceeded the value of one billion euros. Many of them were motivated by the statements of the founders, who, e.gtaking the baton, they often say, “It was time to grow, but there was no new financing available, so we sold.”
In a country where over 90% of companies fall into the microbusiness category, fashion and luxury are no exception. Excluding the big names, the companies listed above were often small compared to the size of the global market and, therefore, needed capital to expand a business that constantly requires manpower and financial resources to grow or remain competitive if already large. The resistance to supply chain aggregations of family-controlled companies is another element that played in favor of such acquisitions, as Santo Versace declared in an interview: “When my brother Gianni was murdered, we had an agreement with Gucci which, if it had been completed, would have prevented the birth of Kering.”
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