Agnelli family buy 24 per cent stake in Christian Louboutin
Italy’s Agnelli family is continuing its expansion into the luxury world announcing it has bought a stake in Christian Louboutin.
The dynasty has snapped up a 24 per cent stake for €541m through its holding company Exor, valuing the brand at €2.3bn. The company is set to appoint two of the seven members on the Louboutin board.
Last year Exor bought a majority stake in Chinese luxury lifestyle label Shang Xia which is part-owned by France’s Hermes.
Exor and Louboutin today said the investment would “accelerate the next phase of [Louboutin’s] development” and is “poised to capture significant new opportunities.”
The Paris-based brand named after its eponymous designer and co-founder is best known for producing shoes with red soles and operates 150 stores in 30 different countries.
“The company will continue to develop its multi-channel distribution strategy, not least by extending its existing digital and e-commerce platform,” Exor said.
The firm has declined a number of takeover offers in recent years.
Louboutin will retain the company’s majority stake with his business partner Bruno Chambelland.
“Exor is a company with a steady long-term focus and a strong entrepreneurial culture which, with my partner Bruno, we are also very attached to and where we fully recognize ourselves,” Louboutin said. “And so it became clear that Exor would be the ideal partner with whom we would continue the Louboutin adventure, which began just 30 years ago.”