Chapter 508 Gucci Hermès Group

Chapter 508 Gucci-Hermès Group

"So you are already ready to acquire Hermès?"

"Yes, when I found out that LVMH Group had quietly purchased a part of Hermès shares earlier, I knew that if they didn't do it early, they would make Hermès their prey, or in other words, they would have Relevant plans have been made..."

Barron held the phone and said with a smile:

"However, all this needs to be done with caution. After all, the Hermès family still has very tight control over the company."

"To be honest, I was really surprised when I saw this report, but at that time, I also knew that since you made the acquisition public, you must be confident..."

"So you have so much confidence in me, honey. By the way, how is the Android company going?"

After hearing Barron's question, Ivanta's voice came from the phone:

"The latest prototype has been completed and is being tested to ensure that the Android system can run smoothly on it... In fact, I think we can launch the Android system and new mobile phones before Christmas, which will definitely be a sensation in the world..."

It can be heard that Ivanta is very confident in the Android system and their smartphones - this is not surprising. After all, anyone who is used to using current feature phones and tries to use a real smartphone will be surprised. This is impressive.

To be honest, Barron had such impulses at first...

but……

"This is not safe, honey. We have to admit that in many aspects we are still slightly lacking compared to Apple. According to my information, Apple's projects similar to ours will be released early next year, regardless of Whether it is Android or Honor Electronics, they are still inferior in terms of brand and appeal, so the best strategy is for us to follow closely behind Apple and let them help us clear the obstacles.”

Although Barron's words were indeed true, there was another reason he couldn't tell Ivanta.

That is, in terms of cross-generational smartphones, Barron is still prepared to maintain a certain degree of respect for Jobs and give this honor to him - he does not need this false reputation, and this is what the pioneer deserves.

After hanging up the phone, Barron lowered his head and looked at assistant Wang Wanting who was busy under the desk...

The sun was good today. He pulled the female assistant up and asked her to hold on to the floor-to-ceiling window. Then, behind her, they enjoyed the scenery outside the window happily.

…

Gucci Group CEO De Sole's trip to France was still very productive.

Perhaps seeing that it was difficult to recover, the Hermès family was finally persuaded by him and handed over most of the company's shares.

In addition to the more than 50% of Hermès shares they originally bought through those offshore companies, after losing the possibility of holding the company, many members of the Hermès family sold their shares to them—— After all, the current Hermès family has more than 200 members, and only a few of them are still working in the Hermès company. Most of the other members still have their own careers.

In this way, the Gucci Group's share of Hermès exceeded 65% in one fell swoop, completing the acquisition of Hermès.

However, according to Desol's commitment to the Hermès family, after acquiring the Hermès company, they will still have a certain degree of independence, and the company's operations will not change much. This is why the Hermès family agreed to give up part of their shares. Prerequisites for being merged into the Gucci Group.

After completing this acquisition, the Gucci Group will be renamed Gucci-Hermes Group, referred to as GH Group, which also shows their respect for the Hermès brand.

After being defeated by the Gucci Group and seeing no hope of acquiring Hermès, the LVMH Group reluctantly sold nearly 5% of their shares in Hermès to the Gucci-Hermès Group after negotiations, making a small profit in tears. Pen.

In this way, GH Group's shareholding in Hermès has reached 70%, giving it absolute control over the company.

Although GH Group will not interfere with the specific operations of Hermès, after merging into this group, both parties will also make comprehensive considerations in terms of brand promotion and strategy. Just like Hermès has also seen the Gucci Group’s large-scale entry into After the Chinese market, the overall revenue will be promoted. In the future, GH Group will also use the channels to increase investment in the Chinese market.

De Sol will serve as CEO of Gucci-Hermès Group, while former Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas will not only continue to hold this position, but also serve as vice president of Gucci-Hermès Group.

After acquiring Hermès, Barron knew that in the original time and space, next year, there would be another luxury brand on the sales counter, and that was the Italian brand Valentino.

Well, Beatrice Borromeo, whom Barron had met once before, her uncle is the president of Valentino.

But acquiring Valentino now may not be considered a good business.

Because the current Valentino can be said to be at the peak of this brand. In Barron's previous life, Permila Fund acquired most of the shares of the Valentino brand for 2.6 billion euros in 2007.

However, Valentino was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis around 2009 and suffered a financial crisis.

Then when the brand was acquired by the Qatari royal family in 2012, they only spent 700 million euros...

Speaking of which, when it comes to investing in luxury brands, Barron mostly refers to the future development of these brands in the original time and space.

For example, the Gucci and Hermes he acquired are companies with good growth potential in the future, which shows that the management of these companies are reliable.

After all, Barron did not have much experience in luxury brand management in his previous life. He would still leave such professional matters to professionals...

Why are traditional European private investors or private funds not keen on investing in the fashion industry?

In addition to the difficulty in grasping market conditions, more importantly, running a luxury brand requires considering too many irrational factors.

Among them, finding a successful designer for the brand is particularly difficult, even for experienced fashion industry entrepreneurs.

Just like Gucci, it regained its glory after finding the right designer - this kind of stock market where one designer saves the entire brand is not uncommon in the luxury goods industry.

At least Barron has some familiarity with well-known designers of certain brands because he has had many "confidantes" in the past.

But designers still have their own tonality. A designer who is suitable for this brand may not be able to save another brand - because brands also have their own personalities and heritage.

As for the Valentino brand, in Barron's previous life, since Valentino Gravani retired in 2007, the Permilla Foundation has been worrying about finding a suitable designer for this brand, although it is still a star on the red carpet. A popular choice at the time, it never regained its international glory.

Therefore, Barron still holds a wait-and-see attitude towards Valentino.