Tomorrow the Moncler down jackets arrive on the stock exchange. For the French newspaper le Monde, the listing represents "the most important debut in Milan since the listing of Enel Green Power in November 2010". Moncler is on the main MTA market, the second IPO of 2013 after Moleskin and the sixth since 2010, when Tesmec also landed in addition to Enel Green Power (in any case, a greater number of listings concerned the AIM market). What is certain is that in the following two years only the companies in the fashion/luxury system ventured onto the price lists and managed to complete a successful listing: in 2012 Brunello Cucinelli landed and in 2011 Ferragamo, both almost doubled their stock market valuation. Moncler is now awaiting the gate, which has mortgaged high expectations: on Friday, the company communicated the data relating to the IPO: the Offer concluded successfully on 11 December 2013, with requests for a total of 2.087.871.624 shares from 66.764 applicants and an overall demand that exceeded the quantity of shares offered by about 27 times.
Today there are now 17 luxury companies listed in Milan for a total valuation of the sector which has risen to 32 billion euros from 13 billion in 2003. Milan, underlined Le Monde himself, has become the reference market for the listing of luxury companies Italian companies and the arrival of Moncler is "comforting news for the market which is now betting very clearly on the multiplication of debuts by luxury companies on the peninsula".
Prada is missing from the appeal of the Milanese fashion group which, despite the now London top management of Piazza Affari, has preferred the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. But on the Stock Exchange it is hoped that in the coming months four or five new companies in the sector will follow Moncler. On the other hand, there is no shortage of eligible candidates. In a study published just a few days ago, Pambianco identified about 50 luxury companies that could go public. Among these large groups such as Giorgio Armani, which has been talked about for years, Ermenegildo Zegna, Dolce & Gabbana, Renzo Rosso, Versace, but also new wntry such as the Umbrian cashmere knitwear Fabiana Filippi or design companies such as Kartell and Flos.
To pave the way for future freshmen, luxury or otherwise, the Stock Exchange has launched a series of initiatives with the aim of facilitating and accelerating the process of change, including organizational change, which requires SMEs to be listed on the Stock Exchange. The potential catchment area is around a thousand businesses, in relation to analyzes relating to growth prospects, dynamism or the need for solutions to generational change. So a few weeks ago a website was also launched (part of the Più Borsa project, which aims to promote a common line of action for market development among members, including operators and associations) dedicated to companies that are interested in a possible quotation. On the site, companies find information on the availability, accessibility and cost of support activities for listing on the Stock Exchange, with particular reference to small and medium-sized enterprises. All on a single platform, without having to contact different operators.
The aim is to reduce the degree of uncertainty, often complained of by companies interested in listing, on listing costs. Thus, a precise list of services has been identified in relation to which intermediaries, consultancy firms, auditing firms and law firms, which adhere to the project, can formulate specific offers. Something more than a simple informative site: the reference persons to contact who follow the project can also be found online, those who adhere agree to standard rates and to give details on the offer of services. Some operators (intermediaries, auditors and consultants) are already online but the promoters of the initiative (including Consob and Borsa Italiana) are confident that the number will soon increase. Now only the freshmen are missing.
