Another big luxury deal may be brewing
Kering, the owner of luxury brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, has held exploratory talks to buy Italian apparel company Moncler, according to Bloomberg.
Moncler is best known for its puffy winter coats. Its shares shot up by 9% on Thursday, while Kering stock posted a more modest rise of 1.3%. When asked about the report, Kering declined to comment.
Moncler said in a statement that its chairman and CEO, Remo Ruffini, interacts “from time to time” with “other sector participants, including the Kering group, in order to explore strategic potential opportunities.”
“At the moment, however, there is not any concrete hypothesis under consideration,” the company added.
What’s so great about Moncler? Our colleagues at CNN Style point to its innovative approach to leadership: One project involves asking multiple creative directors to produce individual collections that are released on a rolling calendar. This allows new products to be marketed on a monthly instead of seasonal basis.
Should the deal be completed, it would help Kering compete with rival French luxury group LVMH. The owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior announced last month that it would buy Tiffany & Co. in a deal that values the jeweller at about $16.2 billion.
LVMH on a roll: The luxury conglomerate led by billionaire Bernard Arnault is having a great year, with shares increasing nearly 55% so far. Earlier in 2019, LVMH acquired Rihanna’s Fenty and Fenty Beauty fashion and cosmetics lines, which have enjoyed huge success with a diverse swath of young women.
It’s all working out well for Arnault. With a fortune of $106 billion, he could soon overtake Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to become the world’s richest person.
