Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Jan 26, 2017
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Lanvin: Qatari royal family's Mayhoola Group in talks about possible purchase

Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Jan 26, 2017

There are renewed rumours about a possible sale of Lanvin. The luxury Parisian fashion label is going through a troubled phase, and once more the Mayhoola Group has reportedly expressed an interest in acquiring it. According to a Paris source quoted by WWD, Lanvin's majority shareholder, Taiwanese businesswoman Shaw-Lan Wang, and the investment fund owned by the Qatari royal family, appear to have met recently to discuss the issue.


Bouchra Jarrar at her first Lanvin show last September - © PixelFormula


The Qatari fund already owns Valentino, Balmain and Pal Zileri, and would be keen to add a prestigious French fashion house to its portfolio. Besides, this is not the first time Mayhoola has expressed an interest in Lanvin. In 2015, the Qatari group put forward an acquisition offer worth between €400 and €500 million, which Shaw-Lan Wang rejected.

Lanvin was founded in 1889 and has been experiencing difficulties for some years, especially after the dismissal in 2014 of Creative Director Alber Elbaz. In 2016, the label is believed to have incurred losses of just over €10 million - for the first time in nearly 10 years - compared to a €6.3 million profit the previous year. In the same period, sales slumped by more than 20%, down to less than €170 million, compared to €210 million in 2015.

For the time being, Bouchra Jarrar's taking charge of design has not led to the expected recovery.  As revealed recently by Reuters, orders for Lanvin's new collections placed by multi-brand clients, which account for approximately 70% of the label's revenue, fell by between 30% and 40% in the last six months.

Also, according to the information we have, the chemistry between the designer and her team is far from ideal, and there are fears among the staff that jobs may be about to be cut.

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