Chanel keeps integrating suppliers, buys stake in three manufacturers

Chanel expands its portfolio. The French luxury holding continues its acquisitions strategy and has bought a stake in three new suppliers. Specially, the company has acquired Italian leather good makers Renato Corti and Mabi, as well as French clothing manufacturer Grandis.

The group has bought a 40% stake in Renato Corti, that has leather factories in Florence and Milan. In Mabi, on the other hand, Chanel has also acquired a 40% stake. The company is specialized in high-end, handbag maker and has factories in Florence and San Daniele in Italy.

In Grandis, Chanel has bought a 34% stake. The company has twelve workshops in Frances specialized in tailoring, flou, lingerie, swimwear and leather. The three acquisitions represent an investment of 169 million dollars, according to WWD.

The president of fashion of Chanel, Bruno Pavloysky, stated that the investments are part of the company’s strategy to preserve traditional know-hows and bringing new specialized manufactures into its Paraffection subsidiary, which employs employs 5,000 people across thirty companies.

Chanel has acquired a 40% stake in Mabi and Renato Corti  

“If we want to remain the leader in luxury over the next 20 years, we have to make investments and take risks in areas we consider key for the future,” stated the executive.  

In the last couple of months, Chanel has bought a stake of some of it suppliers like Samanta specialized in leather goods, the Spanish Colomer Leather Group, also specialized in leather or Orlebar Brown, specialized in swimwear, amongst others.

The company’s revenue stood at 11.1 billion dollars in 2018, an increase of 10.5% compared to the previous year. The operating profit, on the other hand, was close to 3 billion dollars, 8% more than in 2017.