Report: LVMH to Take Equity Stake in Marcolin Group
Monday, January 23 2017 | 00 h 00 min | News
The French luxury goods group LVMH is preparing to acquire a 10% stake in Italy-based Marcolin Eyewear, in order to ensure better control over production.
Relatives of the LVMH group told Bloomberg and Reuter that the intentions of LVMH are expected to made known in the coming weeks. Marcolin currently manufactures the Emilio Pucci frames as part of a licensing agreement with LVMH.
The same anonymous sources argue that the French luxury giant could possibly repatriate other brands at Marcolin, notably Celine, in order to centralize production there.
“LVMH has been making sunglasses for the Louis Vuitton line so they aren’t a stranger to the eyewear industry. Kering has made an example to all the other fashion houses that it is possible.”, said, Registered Optician and Eyewear Social Media influencer @ThroughaSpectacle., Howard K.
Industry analyst Zuzanna Pusz indicated that this would be very bad news for Safilo. Safilo currently holds licenses for several brands of LVMH (Dior, Marc Jacobs, Celine, Fendi and Givenchy). The agreement with Celine ends in 2017 and will not be renewed. The share price of Safilo lost 15% of its stock market value in the wake of these revelations.
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