Fosun acquires French luxury brand Lanvin

Taiwanese businesswoman Shaw-Lan Wang sold the majority stake she acquired in 2001 to Fosun. The management has retained a minority stake in the business.

Lanvin does not publish its sales; however, the company experienced losses of €18.3m in 2016 and around €27m in 2017, according to press reports. The reports noted that since creative director Albert Elbaz's departure in 2015, the brand has had difficulties finding a suitable successor – Bouchra Jarrar left the house after only two seasons. Olivier Lapidus filled in the role last summer.

Fosun has been actively investing in the global fashion and consumer industry as a result of rapidly increasing consumption of international goods in China. The Fosun Fashion Group has a mandate to invest globally in the fashion and retail industry, and strategically deepen its root in this sector.

Another Chinese investor that has recently targeted French luxury brands is Shandong Ruyi Technology Group. The corporate bought French luxury clothing retail group Sandro Maje and Claudie Pierlo (SMCP), alongside KKR, in April 2016. SMCP was then listed with a €1.5bn market cap on Euronext Paris in October 2017.

Company
Founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, the group designs luxury womenswear, menswear, kidswear and accessories, including footwear and leather goods. The company claims to be the oldest couture house still in business. Lanvin, based in Paris, sells products to around 50 countries. 

People
Lanvin – Nicolas Druz (CEO); Simone Mantura (deputy general manager).
Fosun International – Guo Guangchang (chairman);
Fosun Fashion Group – Joann Cheng (executive president).  

Advisers
Company – DLA Piper, Laurence Masseran, Cécile Szymanski, Laurent Asquin, Pierre-Alain Bouhenic, Arnaud Moussatoff, Nicolas Crocq, Jérôme Halphen, Vanessa Li, Sheng Wu, Paul Chen (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• France
• Consumer
• France
• KKR
• DLA Piper