Armani’s business value extends far beyond its roots in luxury fashion. With the late designer’s name attached to high-performing beauty and eyewear licenses, analysts say these categories could prove crucial for any potential buyers.
Armani attracts buyer interest with beauty and eyewear power – Reuters
The fashion house, founded by Giorgio Armani 50 years ago, reported revenue of €2.3 billion ($2.71 billion) last year, down 5% from the previous year, amid a global luxury slowdown and as a shift to casualwear reduced the appeal of its classic suits.
However, filings by the Italian company show that figure nearly doubles to €4.25 billion with the inclusion of sales from beauty and eyewear — products made under license since 1988 by L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica, respectively.
Giorgio Armani’s will, published last week following his death on September 4, named those two companies alongside French luxury giant LVMH as potential buyers of the business.
Armani-branded perfumes and beauty products in L’Oréal’s portfolio generate around €1.5 billion annually, according to industry sources and analysts, while Armani eyewear contributes approximately €500 million to EssilorLuxottica.
Just over one-tenth of that goes to the Armani Group as royalties, according to Reuters calculations based on filings.
Sales of licensed products could be a fundamental factor in determining the price of Armani in a potential transaction, according to an industry source who has worked at a possible suitor.
While operating profit for the Armani Group — which depends largely on fashion — shrank to 3% of net revenue last year, the beauty and eyewear businesses are potentially more lucrative. L’Oréal reported an overall operating profit margin of 20% last year, while EssilorLuxottica’s stood at nearly 17%.
The Armani brand is “great eyewear, great beauty, a great legacy, but the ready-to-wear brand today is not the hottest on the planet,” HSBC analyst Erwan Rambourg told Reuters.
Licenses central to potential sale
Armani’s license with EssilorLuxottica — in which the designer held a 2% stake — was renewed in 2023 for a 15-year term. The deal with L’Oréal runs until 2050.
Aware of the importance of these collaborations, Giorgio Armani’s will states that priority for any sale should be given to groups with which his company “already has a partnership.”
EssilorLuxottica and L’Oréal said last week they would assess a possible investment in Armani, which they will initially hold as a 15% stake. A second, larger stake should be transferred later to the same buyer or a listing sought, the will says.
LVMH, controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, said it was honored to be named as a potential partner.
Maintaining control of the sizeable Armani license through a large stake purchase would be more significant for L’Oréal than for EssilorLuxottica.
A bid by L’Oréal for Armani may follow the precedent set by beauty group Estée Lauder, which purchased fashion label Tom Ford in 2022 — keeping the fragrances but granting long-term licenses to other players for apparel and eyewear.
Armani is “highly regarded” as a beauty brand, said Morningstar analyst Dan Su. It is also one of the best-known names in men’s fragrances, a segment that is booming. L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus told Reuters in July that its “Stronger With You” fragrance was a “phenomenon” among younger men.
Managing a fashion label in addition to beauty could add complexity for L’Oréal.
And despite their long collaboration, Armani would be a tough nut to crack for EssilorLuxottica, which dipped into fashion by acquiring streetwear brand Supreme in 2024, but has emphasized its aim to become a med-tech group.
LVMH, with its depth and breadth of luxury expertise, would have the ability to manage a full acquisition that brings in-house the full suite of Armani’s sprawling businesses, several industry experts said.
The French conglomerate could manage eyewear via its Thelios unit, while beauty is already a core business.
But LVMH may struggle to bring Armani beauty and eyewear in-house any time soon, given the existing long-running licenses.
Boss Arnault would also have to cohabit with a foundation set up by Armani that will hold de facto veto powers.
“LVMH and L’Oréal are like chalk and cheese,” said Rambourg.
Louis Vuitton has named Grammy Award–winning artist Future as its newest ambassador, deepening the maison’s ongoing commitment to celebrating talent across cultural landscapes.
Louis Vuitton names Future as its newest ambassador. – Louis Vuitton
The Atlanta-born rapper, producer and composer continues to dominate the global music landscape. Most recently, he released back-to-back chart-topping albums, “We Don’t Trust You” and “We Still Don’t Trust You”, which became an international phenomenon and further cemented Future’s status as a cultural trailblazer. Over the course of his career, Future has earned 11 number-one albums and multiple chart-leading singles.
“Future embodies the core values of Louis Vuitton, including creativity, artistry, and a pioneering spirit that resonates with international audiences,” the maison said in a statement. “His unique style and creative vision make him an invaluable addition to the Louis Vuitton family.”
It’s not the first time Future collaborates with Louis Vuitton. He attended Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Spring–Summer 2026 show in Paris at the invitation of Pharrell Williams, a longtime friend and creative collaborator. Earlier this year, Future also appeared at the 2025 Met Gala, themed “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” wearing a custom Louis Vuitton grey quarter-zip ensemble layered with a tie, designed by Williams.
Rent the Runway announced on Monday sales for the third quarter rose 15.4% to $87.6 million, with the U.S. rental platform clocking growth across its subscriber base.
Rent the Runway
The New York-based firm said ending active subscribers grew 12.4% to 148,916 during the three months, and average active subscribers totalled 147,645, up 12.9% on the prior-year period.
Meanwhile, total subscriber numbers lifted 6.1% to 185,166 during the quarter ending October 31.
In line with strong sales growth, the company reported a net income of $76.5 million, as compared to a loss of $18.9 million in the third quarter last year.
“This year we’ve repositioned ourselves for sustained growth in the category,” said Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway.
“Not only did we execute operationally on our stated goals to return to our customer-obsessed origins, reinvigorate our brand, and drive double-digit growth in subscribers; but we also restructured our balance sheet, closing the recapitalization transactions in October that offer improved financial flexibility to better position us for continued growth.”
Earlier this year, Rent the Runway said it will hand over a controlling stake in the company as part of a plan to cut debt and grow.
The deal, with lender Aranda Principal Strategies and other partners, will wipe more than $240 million of debt from Rent the Runway’s balance sheet, according to an emailed statement released in August.
Looking ahead, Rent the Runway said it forecasts revenue of between $323.1 million and $325.1 million for the full-year.
Elisabetta Caldera, 55, has been named global chief people and organization officer for Chanel Ltd., succeeding Claire Isnard, 64, starting next month, the company told Bloomberg News in a statement.
Isnard is retiring after more than 17 years at the group, which had a workforce of around 38,400 employees last year. Caldera will join Chanel’s leadership team, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Leena Nair, and be based in London.
Caldera spent more than four years as global chief human resources officer at Aegon Ltd. where she was also part of the insurer’s executive committee. The Italian executive previously spent 17 years at Vodafone Group Plc in various HR roles until 2021 when she joined Aegon.
Under CEO Nair, the former head of HR at Unilever Plc, Chanel has been rebuilding the roster of top managers at the company as an older guard retires.
Chanel, known for its No. 5 fragrance, is privately owned by the billionaire brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer whose fortunes are estimated at about $43 billion each, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The company, founded in Paris but headquartered in London, reports its financial performance once a year, generally around late May. Revenue fell 4.3% to $18.7 billion in 2024 on a comparative basis with operating profit sliding by almost a third partly due to heavy advertising spending and a rise in hiring.
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