Armani will resist potential acquisitions
Giorgio Armani has told media that French luxury groups are looking to buy Italian menswear brands after France’s PPR bought Italian tailor Brioni in early January, adding that his business, Armani, was not for sale.
PPR recently finalised its acquisition of Brioni, reviving market expectations of a new consolidation trend in the industry.
“The French are very aggressive, they are looking for fantastic brands with an established business and share markets,” Mr Armani told reporters at the Milan menswear week. “This is not over yet. But I am not a financier like (PPR Chief Executive Francois-Henri) Pinault. I am a designer and a businessman,” he said.
“What I have, in all sectors, is enough. The only thing I miss is being 30 years younger,” the 77-year-old designer said.
Mr Armani said he was confident about 2012 despite economic turmoil. “Revenue grew double-digit in 2011, above our expectations,” he said. “We are investing, there is lots to do.”
The unlisted Armani brand, which employs over 5,300 people and makes leathergoods, eyewear, watches, jewellery and high-end home furniture, had net cash of EUR604 million in 2010.
Mr Armani said he does not intend to go public or sell to private investors. “Nobody is knocking on my door, officially,” he said.
Mr Armani also said that his latest Emporio Armani collection was inspired by Italy’s new Prime Minister, Mario Monti, an economist known for his modest lifestyle who took over from media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. “We read in the newspapers of this distinguished man, of the need for a less aggressive attitude,” he said.
