The Style Capital private equity fund led by Roberta Benaglia acquires 40% of LuisaViaRoma, the high-end fashion online store among the first, 22 years ago, to understand the potential of e-commerce (alongside the physical , which still exists today in via Roma in Florence, a stone’s throw from the Duomo) and the only major player to have remained family-owned, owned by the patron Andrea Panconesi.
Style Capital will invest a total of 130 million euros, of which 50 million in a capital increase and 76.5 million in the purchase of shares. The resources will be used to finance the growth of the proprietary technology platform and the international expansion plans of LuisaViaRoma, today the Italian leader in digital luxury and one of the main global operators. At the end of the operation, which will close within the year, Andrea Panconesi will keep a 60% stake. Style Capital will have “important governance rights” in view of the objective of listing the company on the stock exchange in the coming years.
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LuisaViaRoma in 2020 achieved revenues of 187.5 million, up 13% on the previous year, with a gross operating margin (ebitda) of 2 million and a net profit of 500 thousand euros. In the space of eight years, from 2012 to 2020, the turnover tripled, going from 66.1 million to 187.5, even if the EBITDA decreased (from 9.3 million to 2 million). Panconesi has always said that «LuisaViaRoma is the clear proof of how you can make money with ecommerce». For future expansion, the Florentine entrepreneur has chosen a fund specialized in fashion and lifestyle: «Style Capital is perfectly aligned with the DNA of LuisaViaRoma – says the president and CEO of LuisaViaRoma – and is the ideal partner to accelerate our growth. We look forward to working together with the new partner to guide LuisaViaRoma in the next stages of development, continuing to innovate technology and logistics, both online and offline ».
For Style Capital, which holds 55.9% of the forte_forte brand, 32% of Msgm, a share of the sustainable luxury brand Re / done and 69.7% of the Australian brand Zimmermann, this is a strategic step: ” I am thrilled to undertake this path alongside the LuisaViaRoma management team – says Roberta Benaglia, CEO of Style Capital – and to help build the future of the most important Italian multi-brand e-tailer, today one of the main players in luxury internationally. Our goal is to support the next steps for the growth of the company, strengthening the internal organization and investing in the proprietary technological platform to offer an impeccable experience ». LuisaViaRoma was assisted by Jefferies, SLVB, PwC TLS, Studio Associato Bartolini Pieralli and Kpmg.