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Tag: Folli Follie

  • Fosun International eyes up food distributor and retailer Metro

    Fosun International eyes up food distributor and retailer Metro

    Chinese international conglomerate and investment firm Fosun International is negotiating a US$500 million holding in German wholesaler Metro, according to a report.

    The unconfirmed news about an acquisition that would see Fosun taking a 9 per cent holding in Metro has already boosted the firm’s share prices and may generate interest from other players, setting off a bidding war with other recent and potential investors in the firm.

    While current and prospective stakeholders in Metro may be preparing to face off, Fosun remains committed to its global acquisitions strategy that has seen it review an average of 25 possible investments per day – more than 9000 in total – over the last year.

    Fosun International currently owns 10 per cent in accessories retailer Folli Follie, resort Club Med, Canada’s Cirque du Soleil and the Malaysian-founded Secret Recipe cafe chain.

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  • Folli Follie To Open 50 New China Stores

    Folli Follie To Open 50 New China Stores

    Greek jewelry- and timepiece-maker Folli Follie plans to open 50 new stores in China next year, showing a renewed faith in a market in which its presence has shrunk in recent years.

    Twenty of the locations will be directly operated by the company, five to seven of which will become its flagship stores in major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Folli Follie China Director Connie Law told Caixin.

    The other 30 shops will run on a franchise model, Law said.

    The brand recently launched a necklace that includes depictions of dogs ahead of the Chinese year of the dog, the first time the company has launched such a design and a clear attempt to appeal to Chinese consumers.

    Folli Follie became well-known to Chinese fashionistas in 2011 when domestic conglomerate Fosun Group became its second-largest shareholder. The brand had 220 stores in China in 2014, according to a Fosun financial report. This figure has since declined to only 150, Law said.

    An industry insider said that the decline was in part caused by some Folli Follie franchisees switching to rivals such as Austria’s Swarovski.

    Law told Caixin that Chinese consumers are buying entry-level luxury goods at home rather than abroad as the price gap between China and other countries has narrowed.

    As e-commerce continues to rapidly expand in China — online sales grew 32% in the first 11 months of 2017, compared to a 10% increase in total retail spending — Folli Follie has also established stores on online marketplaces, including Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com.

    But 75% of the company’s spending in China goes to its offline stores, Law said, adding that the company will never abandon its brick-and-mortar business.

  • Folli Follie Group buys back Australian business from Luxury Retail Group

    Folli Follie Group buys back Australian business from Luxury Retail Group

    ATHEX-listed Folli Follie Group is buying back its Australian distribution network from Luxury Retail Group (LRG), the second buy back deal that LRG has completed this year, following the sale of its Furla business to Furla Group.

    The deal will see the Greek-based Folli Follie Group acquire 100 per cent of the distribution network built by LRG for an undisclosed sum.

    Nelson Mair, managing director of LRG, said while they didn’t plan to sell both businesses so close to each other, the timing was in the best interests of all stakeholders.

    “The sale allows us to concentrate on our exciting and rapidly growing Sneakerboy business and on our latest brand in Australia, Balenciaga” said Mair.

    Mair said the company is working on plans at present to launch new luxury brands into this market, which they will announce in the coming months.

    LRG launched Folli Follie in Australia in early 2015, quickly establishing the brand in three high profile locations (two in Melbourne and one in Sydney), as well as a strong online channel.

    The business started by LRG for Folli Follie has created the foundation on which to build growth, consistent with what the brand has experienced in Europe and Asia.

    Earlier this year the Folli Follie Group posted global revenue growth of 12.1 per cent to €1.3 billion, with earnings growing 10.1 per cent to €291.9 million (EBITDA).

    “Folli Follie has been an important part of the growth of LRG as, along with the Furla business, we have demonstrated the value we bring to global brands wishing to establish themselves in this market,” Mair said.

    The Folli Follie Group stated it will now establish a local headquarters in Australia to help facilitate its expansion plans. The company also intends to open a number of new stores in the coming years and there is now the potential to bring its jewellery and watch brand, Links of London, to Australia.

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  • Fosun International acquiring French brand IRO

    Fosun International acquiring French brand IRO

    Chinese fashion retailer Fosun International will reportedly acquire French apparel brand IRO.

    IRO’s founders, brothers Laurent and Arik Bitton, will retain a 40 per cent stake, while Fosun will acquire the 25 per cent shareholding of the Marciano family, founder of the Guess Group, along with the remaining shares, making it the major shareholder.

    The deal, worth about €130 million (US$143.533 million), has been confirmed by a Fosun spokesperson quoted in the Chinese media.

    IRO was founded in Paris in 2004, with a men’s clothing series being added in 2011. Its followers include supermodels and fashion bloggers like Kate Moss, Rosie Huntington, Gigi Hadid and Aimee Song.

    With annual sales of about €60 million, IRO has stores in Paris, New York, London and Rome – all up, seven outlets in France and 25 internationally, including four in the US. It also has more than 40 counters in high-end department stores.

    Fosun has diverse interests covering fashion and retailing, and also owns the French resort group Club Med. The company has invested in many overseas consumer brands, including Greek fashion brand group Folli Follie, American high-end women’s clothing brand St John, Italian high-end custom men’s clothing Caruso, and fashion lifestyle brand Tom Tailor.

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