Negotiations between Prada and Capri Holdings for the Milanese luxury group’s acquisition of Versace could be concluded in a matter of weeks. According to rumours reported in the last few days by Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, an April 10 deadline has been set for the negotiations that see Prada in pole position for buying Versace, in a deal worth approximately €1.5 billion. The deal might be worth up to €2 billion if it were to include luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo. The goal of the operation is to relaunch the eponymous label founded by Gianni Versace, which was sold in 2018 by private equity firm Blackstone and the Versace family to Capri Holdings for approximately €1.85 billion.
Through the acquisition, the Prada group would diversify and strengthen its market position, while creating an Italian luxury conglomerate capable of competing internationally, especially against the duopoly formed by French giants LVMH and Kering. The Milanese fashion group is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and currently has a market capitalisation of HK$140.15 billion (approximately €16.7 billion). Its brand portfolio includes Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, Marchesi 1824, and Luna Rossa. Buying Versace (and possibly Jimmy Choo) would add considerable heft to the Prada group, which now seems stronger than ever, having recorded net revenue of €5.4 billion in 2024, a 17% increase over 2023, well above the market average.
The Prada label’s retail revenue grew by 4%, and Miu Miu’s by 93%. The results were all the more significant in terms of the group’s regional performance, especially in Asia, where competitors struggled while the Prada group reported double-digit growth in net retail sales in Japan (up by 45.8%), the Middle East (up 26%), Europe (up 17.5%), and Asia-Pacific as a whole (up 13.1%). Versace instead recorded a 15% revenue drop between October and December 2024, down to $193 million, also posting an operating loss of $21 million. Figures that have led some analysts to question the wisdom of the ‘Pradace’ deal, as the Prada-Versace marriage has been dubbed by some. Italian investment bank Equita said that “Prada would have the resources to support Versace’s relaunch, but it could be a potentially lengthy, difficult process.” Equita’s analysts added they would not “welcome the news” but “at the same time, given the potential valuation figures currently circulating, we are envisaging a limited negative impact in terms of value creation.”
It is a fact that, from April 1, a member of the Versace family will no longer be in charge of the label’s creativity, since Donatella will make way for Dario Vitale, former design and image director at Miu Miu. For several days, Vitale’s appointment has fuelled rumours that the group spearheaded by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli is close to clinching the Versace deal with Capri Holdings. Donatella Versace will not however completely sever her ties with the label she has led since 1997, the year of her brother Gianni’s death. She will become Versace’s chief ambassador and “will continue to support the brand and its values,” according to John D. Idol, president and CEO of Capri Holdings.
In the press release announcing a spate of new appointments at Versace, Idol stated that a “a carefully thought-out succession plan” is under way at the label. Capri Holdings has been trying to sell Versace for a long time, and the plan became more urgent last October, when a US judge blocked Capri’s $8.5 billion merger with Tapestry, owner among others of Coach and Kate Spade. If Prada were to succeed in acquiring Versace, the deal would surely signal a decisive change of pace in the Italian fashion industry, after major foreign groups have been shopping for luxury labels in Italy for decades, buying the likes of Fendi, Gucci and Valentino.
The Meander Group has announced an equity crowdfunding campaign. The sustainability-focused Scottish company that owns Meander Apparel and Tens Sunglasses said it has “aspirations of global expansion”.
Meander’s Jill and Steve Henry
It’s “inviting members of the public to become part owners of both brands that are on a mission to deliver premium quality clothing and sunglasses to a global customer base”.
The campaign has only just launched on Crowdcube with a pre-money valuation of over £2.6 million and is now overfunding on the platform having exceeded its initial £125,000 target.
Co-founder Jill Henry said: “We are delighted that we’ve had lots of interest in our campaign and to have already surpassed our target. With that said, we would love to continue to overfund and reach our stretch funding goal as this will allow us to do so much more with both our brands at a much faster pace. We would love to add more products to the Meander and Tens collections as well as accelerating our digital growth, well beyond our Scottish shores”.
Previously, Meander had attracted investment from industry insiders including Colin Temple of Schuh and tech entrepreneur Neil Norman. They continue to support the group and are leading the brand’s investment round.
The company, which focuses on sustainable outdoor clothing and lifestyle items has Meander Apparel has flagship stores in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, and London’s Seven Dials.
Tens Sunglasses is an acquired brand that was previously backed by Virgin and the Branson family. The company had been selling the brand in its stores.
Tens specialises in lenses that emulate real life photo filters after being founded in 2014 by three friends and photographers who came up with the idea while on a road trip through the Scottish Highlands. The brand was created on the idea that “lenses in sunglasses don’t have to be dark and dull. All of Tens sunglasses feature filter lenses that drench the world in warm, cinematic tones, helping to lift the mood of the wearer by brightening their view”.
So what will the group use the new investment cash for? It aims to “develop both the Meander and Tens product ranges as well as driving both brands forwards in the digital space in the UK and internationally”.
Co-founder Steve Henry said: “We’ve experienced a period of sustained success and growth in recent years, but we’ve only just scratched the surface. We aim to double down digital growth and introduce Meander and Tens to a wider audience in the UK as well as targeting overseas markets like the US and Europe. There’s huge potential for both our Meander and Tens to become globally recognised brands.”
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has announced the integration of its UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden operations into a single and expanded Northern Europe region led by Vincent Jean-Pierre as COO.
Westfield London
The company said the move reinforces its position “as a top city player focused on the best markets in Europe and the US”.
The newly combined region includes some of the group’s top-performing shopping centres – Westfield London and Stratford City in London, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, and Westfield Mall of Scandinavia in Stockholm – as well as a “range of development opportunities” including Coppermaker Square and Croydon in London, and Amstelveen in the Netherlands.
COO Vincent Jean-Pierre will be based in URW’s London office, supported by a regional management team located in London, Amsterdam and Stockholm.
URW chief executive Jean-Marie Tritant said that the creation of the expanded Northern Europe region “supports the continued optimisation of our operations to drive further growth and unlock value across our portfolio of the best assets in the top cities in Europe and the US. Vincent will bring his leadership, fresh perspective and diverse experience as we maximise the potential of both our standing assets and future developments”.
And the new COO added: “I’m thrilled to lead our newly established Northern Europe team. With our talented people, fantastic portfolio and development opportunities, we’re set to shape vibrant, sustainable destinations where communities and businesses thrive.”
He’s been with URW for 20 years and most recently led the group’s Offices and Mixed-Use Development division. In his new role he’s supported by an experienced Regional Management Team that includes Geoffrey Deshayes in Amsterdam as MD of Asset Management for the combined region in charge of managing the group’s standing assets and investment teams.
Jacinta Rowsell in London is MD of Customer & Retail Operations overseeing Shopping Centre Management, Leasing and Marketing, as well as asset management of UK development projects. And Louise Haffenden, also in London, is MD of People. Meanwhile Samuel Renoux in Stockholm is CFO Northern Europe.
The appointment of Vincent follows the decision last year by former UK COO Scott Parsons to leave the business at the end of March this year. Tritant said he’d “like to offer my thanks to Scott, on behalf of the entire company, for his significant contribution to our UK business, which he leaves in a very strong position”.
‘Elevation’ has been a huge trend at all market levels in recent years and one example of this has been mass-market retailers naming high-profile designers as their creative chiefs. That could mean Zac Posen at Gap, Clare Waight Keller at Uniqlo and now… Jonathan Saunders at & Other Stories.
Jonathan Saunders.Photo by Quentin Belt
The H&M Group company on Thursday named the Scottish designer to the chief creative officer role. Coming just days after the unveiling of its latest collab (with Roksanda) it underlines a doubling down on the creativity focus and original designs that have long been a feature of the chain.
The retailer said that “creativity is at the core of & Other Stories, and this appointment reinforces the brand’s dedication to continuously evolving and strengthening the creative direction”.
The CCO role is “effective in the first half of 2025” with Saunders set to “lead & Other Stories’ overall creative direction, shaping how the brand evolves and expresses itself across all touchpoints”.
The brand’s MD, Lina Söderqvist said of this: “Jonathan brings a refined blend of creativity and passion to & Other Stories and will play a key role in taking the brand into the next phase. His engagement and creative leadership, combined with a deep understanding of contemporary fashion, will be instrumental as we move forward. We look forward to working with Jonathan as we continue to evolve, and I am delighted to welcome him to us.”
And Saunders added: “I think that thoughtful, expressive design that is also accessible, is powerful in this fast-evolving industry.”
Saunders certainly has an impressive track record and despite his British background (he trained at Glasgow School of Art and Central Saint Martins in London), much of his time has been spent in New York since the middle of the last decade.
Since 2018 he’s been running his own Saunders Studio and agency. Before that he was creative consultant at Clavin Klein for just over two years. He’s also consulted for brands such as Tiffany & Co, Chloé, Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, Pucci, and Marc Jacobs. He was creative director of Pollini and spent three-and-a-half years as chief creative officer at DVF (Diane von Furstenberg).
He’d founded his own Jonathan Saunders International label in 2004 and that ran for 12 years, winning a host of celebrity fans including Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton and then-British Prime Minister David Cameron‘s wife Samantha.
Entertainment8 years ago