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GLOBAL FASHION HOUSE Michael Kors said it had agreed to buy Italian luxury giant Versace, adding a new layer to its offering after buying shoemaker Jimmy Choo last year.
Michael Kors, with roots in the United States but headquartered in London, has struck a deal to buy Versace for €1.83 billion, a statement said.
“We are excited to have Versace as part of our family of luxury brands, and we are committed to investing in its growth,” said Michael Kors chief executive John D. Idol.
“With the full resources of our group, we believe that Versace will grow to over $2 billion in revenues,” he added.
“We believe that the strength of the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands, and the acquisition of Versace, position us to deliver multiple years of revenue and earnings growth.”
Donatella Versace, artistic director and vice-president of the Italian group, said the takeover was “essential to Versace’s long-term success”.
She added in the statement: “We are all very excited to join a group led by John Idol, whom I have always admired as a visionary as well as a strong and passionate leader.”
Bags, watches and perfume
Michael Kors, best known for its bags, watches and perfume, said it planned to grow the number of Versace stores worldwide by 50% to 300.
The deal is the latest push by Michael Kors into high-end luxury after it bought British shoemaker to the stars Jimmy Choo in 2017 for $1.4 billion.
It is seen also as positioning Michael Kors more fully as a competitor to Paris-based LVMH and Kering and the Swiss company Richemont among global heavyweights in luxury across various product lines, analysts said.
Versace was the brainchild of Gianni Versace, who was born in Calabria to a dressmaker mother and presented his first signature collection in 1978, with his brother Santo taking care of the label’s business arm.
But the designer, whose bold designs were embraced by Madonna and other mega-celebrities, was the victim of a bizarre slaying in 1997 by luxury-obsessed male prostitute Andrew Cunanan in Miami.
Twenty percent of Versace, known for its Medusa head logo, was bought by US private equity group Blackstone in 2014, and the family owns the rest.
Versace chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd on Tuesday said that since joining the company two years ago, “focus has been on leveraging the company’s heritage and strong brand recognition worldwide”, in turn helping “to experience significant growth in all regions”.
Launched in 1981, Michael Kors is named after its US founder.
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Private sector.. prepare to be hammered! You will support the public sector.
Do you actually know anyone in the public sector? I do, most of them take home about €400.
I do, but people I know are all on €50k+. They are actually laughing at how much they are being paid for “scratching their arse”
I bet you could count the amount of people you like that on one hand with three fingers and a thumb cut off.
You know…sorry
My wages are now down below €400 a week
Howlin can promise what he wants. But its out of his control. If the economy does not grow, and there are no more bailouts from the IMF/ECB , then he just won’t have the money to pay the public sector pay bill.
Looks like the public sector is in for another round of bashing. Lets do a poll! What services do people want to see cut, and what services are you prepared to pay private companies directly for?
No pay cuts, no income tax rises, no cuts to social welfare. How will they pull this off?
Two words- Roscommon Hospital.
There are at least three more budgets in this austerity plan. The Public Sector has already been hit hard so they will be left alone this year ( other than having to pay water charges, property tax like everyone else).
But come budget 2012 or 2013 they will undoubtedly be attacked again.
They have said that before, they promise but never keep them.
ekhm… Why not?
The reason for the possible cut is that taxes are not large enough to pay the costs of government and social welfare. The gap between revenue and spending is not being closed fast enough.
Another agreement delivered on by the ICTU unions
The new Fianna Fail – they fail to see the herd of elephants standing in front of them. Yet the Germans can see our herd of elephants from the far side of Europe. I hear One elephant is called ICTU and another is called IBEC – any other names fir the rest of the hers are welcome.
Why is the gov making promises? Is there an election coming, yes there is. When we have a new pres will the position change.
The public sector must share the pain like the rest of us Minister !
You’ll be downvoted for that comment. Most of them spend the day on here instead of working.
Dont be fooled, the Gov are seeking other ways to get the revenue, indirect taxes. Its a way of avoiding directly confronting workers but make no mistake there will be less money in our pockets. Add to this interest rate increases, continually rising unemployment thus increased Gov expenditure….not sustainable…….unless of course we stop putting money into dead banks or EU and start putting it into the country…..
have your say