Prada is ready to judge acquisitions as candidates come up within the luxurious sector, in keeping with Lorenzo Bertelli, inheritor to the Italian billionaire household.
“Now we have been and can all the time be open to contemplating alternatives,” Bertelli advised reporters Tuesday on the opening of a knitwear manufacturing unit in Torgiano, Italy.
Bertelli, the son of firm founders Patrizio and Miuccia Prada, declined to remark particularly when requested about one potential goal that might come up in coming years, Giorgio Armani SpA. Bertelli, who’s head of social accountability for Prada, mentioned he wasn’t conscious of founder Giorgio Armani’s plan for his enterprise.
Armani final month hinted at potential adjustments for his Italian vogue empire as soon as he’s not in cost. The Italian design impresario, who’s approaching his ninetieth birthday, advised Bloomberg Information then that he wouldn’t rule out a merger for his vogue empire.
His feedback fuelled hypothesis about the way forward for the Italian luxurious business, the place many corporations are nonetheless unbiased and family-controlled — together with Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, Prada SpA, Moncler SpA and Ermenegildo Zegna NV. All lack the dimensions of highly effective, acquisitive French rivals LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Kering SA.
Prada, for its half, has has made a string of investments in manufacturing suppliers in Italy over current years, as it really works to extend inner manufacturing and shorten its provide chain.
The corporate stays dedicated to investing in Italy, Chief Govt Officer Andrea Guerra mentioned at Tuesday’s occasion. By aggregating small suppliers, the corporate can present wanted scale and stability, he mentioned.
Prada, which additionally owns Miu Miu, reported a soar in first-quarter gross sales final month, because it continued to outperform its largest rivals.
The strong outcomes in contrast with a weak efficiency at French rival Kering, whose largest label Gucci is searching for to reposition itself in a extra unique section.
By Tommaso Ebhardt and Flavia Rotondi
Be taught extra:
Lorenzo Bertelli: The Prince of Prada Prepares to Take the Wheel
The 35 year-old former racecar driver — son of designer Miuccia Prada and the corporate’s chairman Patrizio Bertelli — is restructuring the Milanese group from the within out. ‘The whole lot’s altering in order that every part can keep the identical,’ the BoF 500 cowl star mentioned about readying Prada for its subsequent chapter.
