Published
Jan 30, 2020
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Furla postpones its plans to go public

Published
Jan 30, 2020

Furla has launched a new large-scale project, and confirmed the delay of its initial public offering. The Italian leather goods brand had revealed its intentions to suspend its IPO several months ago, leaving the company in the hands of Furlanetto, its founding family. Alberto Camerlengo, Furla’s CEO, confirmed the decision on Monday in an interview with Affari e Finanza, the economic supplement of daily Italian journal Repubblica.


The Italian brand's new London location - Furla



“The company has grown a great deal and the family believes that there is still an unspoken value to suspending the company’s IPO,” said the CEO during his interview. Plans to bring the company public have not totally been ruled out but this won’t be done in the short term, the label explained, since the company intends to remain independent.

It was against this backdrop that Tamburi Investment Partners (TIP) decided to exit last October. The investment firm had obtained a minority share in 2016 by way of a capital increase and a bond issuance.

The fund, which owns shares in other fashion brands including Hugo Boss and Moncler, had invested 15 million euros in 2016. It sold its shares for 35 million. Giovanni Tamburi and Alessandra Gritti, TIP’s respective president and managing director, continue to sit on the board of Furla.

TIP’s shares were bought by Bloom, the holding company owned by the president of Furla, Giovanna Furlanetto, and by her children. The company owns more than 70% of the brand today, with the remaining 30% in the hands of other family members.

In September, the brand announced a fragrance partnership with Mavive and opened its third location in London, in the Westfield shopping center. After six years of very strong growth with double-digit increases, the Italian brand known for its affordable luxury began to slow down in 2018. Its annual revenue came in at 513 million euros, up by 2.8% (up 5.2% at constant exchange rates) compared to last year’s results.

"In the coming months, there will be several important announcements along with important investments that will affect the whole company,” commented Camerlengo. A new project will be unveiled in the coming months. Furla has no intention of opening more locations, but will focus instead on renovating its existing stores with a new design. For its distribution, the company has gone ahead with a restructuring plan that aims to reduce its number of retailers.

Founded in 1927 out of Bologna, the company makes 70% of its sales with its 490 exclusive-brand stores, of which 285 are under direct management, 163 are franchises and 42 are travel retail. With that, it has a presence in 98 countries. Furthermore, the brand can be found across 1,200 multi-brand retailers.
 

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