James Bond becomes French. And with him, an increasingly important slice of Italian fashion. In fact, it ended up in the clutches of the luxury giant Ppr, former owner of the Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Sergio Rossi brands, the Italian house of men's haute couture Brioni, for several months in the sights of François-Henri Pinault, at the helm of the Parisian giant.
The French group, 15 billion euro turnover in 2010 (second at home only to Arnault's LVMH), is leaving the period of crisis behind, starting to invest again in particular on the Italian market, which has always been a land of conquest for the transalpines (see precisely LVMH) for the very high quality of the products and the medium-small caliber of many companies, which has exposed them more to the crisis by favoring "swallowing" by large groups.
Brioni has in fact been a small family-run business for a long time, founded in 1945 by Nazareno Fonticoli and Gaetano Savini in Rome. Only in July 2010, with the appointment of Francesco Pesci, the brand had its first external manager, which however did not save it from the crisis: -20% in the last budget.
And the opportunity was too tempting for PPR to pass up: Brioni has a structure of nearly 2 employees, 74 boutiques and a turnover of 170 million. But above all, despite its niche size, it is one of the best known brands in the world, symbol of Made in Italy excellence: in addition to the character of James Bond, has in fact dressed the most powerful men on the planet: from Barack Obama a Vladimir Putin.
There's a reason for it all the same Francesco Pesci: “It is a great opportunity for us to associate our brand with this large group. Ppr is the ideal partner to accompany us in our growth on the international market, while maintaining our Italian identity".
The deal confirms Ppr's strategy, which centers around two poles: the luxury, finding hunting ground in Italy especially with Gucci and now with Brioni, and lo sport&lifestyle, as evidenced by the recent acquisition of important sports brands such as Puma and Volcom.
This is confirmed by the data: in July, profits, driven by these two sectors, grew by 16,1%. In particular luxury recorded a +22,6%. While distribution, another market where Ppr is present through the ownership of the Fnac chain, marked time: -3%.
Reason why, in the next strategies of the Pinault group, there is to focus less and less on distribution and more and more on luxury, perhaps still investing in Italy. “Brioni adds to our portfolio of high-end brands, in the segment of men's prêt-à-porter, which is experiencing a moment of great turmoil, driven above all by the Asian market”, declares Ppr in the official press release.
The details of the operation: Brijuni has been 100% detected, the figure is not yet official (which will be budgeted in the first quarter of 2012) but in September the offer was around 350 million euros, 90 of which for debt settlement. The news immediately excited the financial markets: in the middle of the day PPR shares gained 2,42% in Paris, with shares sold for 112 euros.
