Fosun Fashion Group, owner among others, of Sergio Rossi, sheds its skin. Simply put, it will now be called Lanvin Group, with new investors that gave the group a valuation of 1 billion USD. The operation coincides with an addition of 300 million USD in liquidity for future acquisitions, as well as a new development program to manage the existing brands in Asia and USA.
Fosun sheds its skin
During his second and last financing round, the newly created Lanvin Group (which controls Lanvin, Sergio Rossi, Wolford, St. John and Caruso) collected 150 million USD. Among the new investors (now minority shareholders), are Japanese trading company Itochu and Chinese footwear manufacturer Stella International. New entries that don’t take away the majority shareholder position of Fosun International. 150 additional million came last week from the deal signed by the entity with e-commerce company Baozun and marketing firm Activation Group.
300 fresh million
Thanks to the new 300 million, “our investment team is open to opportunities”, said Joann Cheng, president of Lanvin Group, to WWD. “We continue to look for brands with a strong DNA and solid heritage”. Cheng pointed out that, with this new structure, the group wants to focus on premium and luxury markets, citing leather accessories and fashion tech among the preferred categories.
Footwear synergies
Cheng also discussed footwear synergies, such as of Sergio Rossi (as announced at the deal’s closing), which will produce for some of the group’s other brands and other collaborations. Additionally, new minority shareholder Stella International (specialized in sneakers and manufacturer of Off-White, Prada, Balmain and Balenciaga), “will offer its industrial experience as a strategic partner and will help the group develop sneaker capsules for some of the brands. The majority of the production process is based in Europe, and we are looking for the best manufacturing partners around the world”, concluded Cheng.
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