(English + French) After a year of global recession in the luxury business, the oldest house of French Haute Couture, LANVIN, is ready to welcome a 12.5% minority share holder in its capital.
Lanvin SA and its worldwide subsidiaries were sold by l’Oréal in July 2001. In 2000 the consolidated sales of Lanvin totaled 50 million EUR.
The purchasers at that time was a group of investors , who had formed a holding company called « Harmony SA »
The 2001 group included:
The Axa Group (insurances)
The Young Brothers group
The Marcel Dassault group ( Aviation & publlishing)
The Bio-Mérieux-Pierre Fabre Group Pharmaceutical and Cosmetics
And Mrs Shaw-Lan Wang , a leader figure of a press group from Taiwan
The Taiwanese publishing magnate represents a new breed of fashion patron , after she took a stake in Lanvin , the label became one of the most watched name of the Paris Catwalk.
Mrs Wang bought the rest of the company in 2003, as she found it difficult to work with other people…
Under Ms Wang , (she spends only 20% of her time in the fashion house , she leaves the creative decisions to Albert ELBAZ ) , the French label’s finance suffered, as Ms Wang launched a new Lanvin Branded perfume, Ms Wang decided to go solo, instead of collaborating with a license.
Later on, to help finance the launch, She signed a deal with a Japanese company ITOCHU group, which has a textile division. Itochu got a 5% stake and left Lanvin $ 9 million.
As Lanvin didn’t have a distribution network, its ended up with losses.
In 2007 Lanvin sold its Perfume division (including the famous Arpège) To a French company, Interparfums, for $ 30 million.
During all those years, severed investors ( including the Aronsson Group ) have offered to help out financially , Ms Wang turned them all down.
Several facts & figures on : S.A. JEANNE LANVIN
Président Ms CHU WANG SHAW-LAW born 7 july 1941 in Chekiang China.
400 Lanvin spots in the world , 40 boutiques, 20 owned
Capital : 16 297 330 Euro.
Mr ELBAZ Abraham Shalom Albert is on the Board of Directors ( administrateur)
Revenue 2005 million Euro 57 - losses 5 million
Revenue 2006 million Euro 73 - losses 14 million
Revenue 2007 million Euro 96 - profit 21 million
Revenue 2008 million Euro 129 – profit 6.5 million
After two years of profit , it was the right time to welcome new shareholders.
French :
Dans un contexte de crise la maison Lanvin qui avait été racheté en juillet 2001 par un groupe d’Investisseurs dont la magnat de la Presse Taiwanese Madame CHU WANG SHAW-LAN
a semble t il signé un accord avec un investisseur familial Européen qui devrait posséder 12.5% du capital après une augmentation.
Madame Wang Shaw Law détenait la quasi totalité du capital depuis 2003.
Madame Wang qui consacre 20% de son temps à la maison, laissant les décisions relatives à la création a son fidèle Alber Elbaz, avait rencontré des difficultés avec un lancement de parfums sans avoir de réseaux de distribution. Cela s’etait traduit par des pertes conséquentes qui l’ont amené à céder au groupe Japonais Itochu, 5% du capital en contrepartie de 9 millions de dollars.
La branche parfums (dont le célèbre Arpège) fut vendue ensuite au groupe Français Interparfum pour 30 millions de dollars.
Durant ces années plusieurs investisseurs( dont le groupe Aronsson ) ont fait des offres de prises de participation minoritaires , mais sans succès.
Quelques chiffres sur la SA Jeanne LANVIN
Président : Madame CHU WANG SHAW-LAW née le 7 jullet 1941 à Chekiang Chine
Mr Elbaz Abraham Shalom Albert est administrateur de la S A
Lanvin à 400 points de ventes dans le monde dont 40 boutiques , dont 20 sont la propriété de Lanvin SA
Chiffre d’affaires :
2005 : 57 millions- perte de 5 millions
2006: 73 millions- perte de 14 milllions
2007: 96 millions- profit de 21 millions
2008 : 129 millions – profit de 6.5 Millions
Après deux années de profit et compte tenu de la crise, le timing est excellent.
Une erreur, any mistake, please contact : bj@abusinesstabloid.com
Published by the http://www.newyorktime.com
29/09/2008.
Lanvin in talks with Qatar investor
By Astrid Wendlandt
Reprints
PARIS — Lanvin is in talks to sell a stake to an unnamed investor in Qatar in a deal that could value the French fashion house at around €150 million, according to industry and financial sources close to the matter.
The negotiations, subject to an exclusivity clause that runs until the end of October, come as the outlook for the luxury goods market deteriorates and credit facilities dry up, strengthening the hand of cash-rich investors. The loss-making label of the designer Christian Lacroix also is continuing to look for a buyer.
On the Lanvin talks, one source said that the parties would have to agree to a price by the end of October or the house would be put back on the market.
While several sources provided details of the talks, they all declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Lanvin moved into profit last year for the first time in decades. It and its smaller rival Balmain, are enjoying a revival; analysts put Lanvin’s down to fashion buyers’ enthusiasm for the work of its designer, Alber Elbaz, who has infused new life into the brand in recent years. Elbaz is said to hold more than 10 percent of the company’s equity.
Lanvin’s controlling shareholder is the Taiwanese media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang, who wants to sell a stake of 35 percent to 40 percent, industry and financial sources said.
« Ms. Wang wants to sell, but she also wants to keep control, » said an industry source who is close to Elbaz. « That is why a deal is far from being reached. »
Wang acquired a holding from L’Oreal in 2001 and bought out other investors in 2003. Last year she sold Lanvin’s perfumes unit to Inter Parfums of France for €22 million, leaving the group without one of the traditional vehicles for brand development.
Lanvin’s lack of full control over trading in Japan is a further complication. The country remains the world’s second largest luxury goods market, according to the consultants Bain & Company, even though it has been shrinking in the past three years.
In Japan, Lanvin clothes are sold under a license owned by the conglomerate Itochu, which holds 5 percent of the company and in 2007 made an estimated $280 million in sales from Lanvin-branded clothes, more than the couture house made itself.
No one at Lanvin likes to talk about the negotiations but they know they are taking place, a second industry source said.
Lanvin declined to comment or respond to questions.
Founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889, the company is the oldest French couture house and reported revenue last year of €100 to €110 million.
At the beginning of this year, Paul Deneve, the company’s chief executive, told Women’s Wear Daily that it was expecting revenue growth of 40 percent in 2008. But the fourth quarter could prove more difficult than forecast as well-heeled customers start to tighten their purse strings, luxury goods analysts said.
Unlike Lanvin, Christian Lacroix is not enjoying much sales momentum, but it, too, is looking for capital. It was sold by the French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2005 to the Falic family, the force behind Duty Free Americas.
Last year, it had losses of €5 million to €10 million on sales of about €35 million, a source close to the company said. The fashion house would say only that discussions are continuing and declined to give any details.
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Though top-end French label Lanvin rhymes with luxury, house designer Alber Elbaz takes his inspiration from real people in the street — not celebs.
Luxury label Lanvin goes to the street for fashion
Though top-end French label Lanvin rhymes with luxury, house designer Alber Elbaz takes his inspiration from real people in the street — not celebs.
« We’re not stars, » Elbaz told us as he posed with US rappers Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, and British rock star Carl Barat, all on hand for Lanvin’s autumn-winter men’s catwalk show Sunday, one of the top events on the four-day Paris men’s calendar.
« That would be a great danger. We could lose all links with reality, » added the diminutive Israeli-US designer.
The collection designed under his direction by Dutch stylist Lucas Ossendrijver « came from inspiration not in exotic places but in the street, in daily life », he added.
Shown by three dozen models with slicked-back hair who marched briskly to the thump of a techno beat, Lanvin’s new line included flowing coats and slim and wide trousers in a stunning palette of colours — as well as a wide waist-cincher, a little like a corset or weightlifter’s belt.
« We had a friend who wore one because of back problems when we were working on the collection, » Elbaz said. « It’s as simple as that. »
Lanvin, which along with Dior and Belgium’s Raf Simons are often viewed as the most influential menswear designers showing in Paris, won a huge ovation from the crowd attending Sunday, the last day of Paris Men’s Week