Kering In Talks To Sell Their 50% Share Of Stella McCartney Back To The Designer

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Stella McCartney Spring 2018 Ready-To-Wear.

PARIS — After 17 years as partners, it is now being reported via BoF, that French luxury conglomerate Kering has recently held discussions to sell its 50% share of Stella McCartney back to the designer.

The publication reports, “French luxury group Kering is in discussions to sell its 50 percent share of Stella McCartney back to the namesake designer, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The announcement, originally slated for early January, has been pushed back indefinitely,” the source says.

Ms Stella McCartney and Kering have been operating and growing the Stella McCartney brand since 2001 as a 50/50 joint venture. As often between stakeholders there are regular discussions about the future of the partnership,” a spokesperson for Kering said in a statement provided exclusively to BoF. “Any significant change to the current relationship would naturally be made public at the appropriate time.”

It is understood that the joint venture agreement enables McCartney to buy back the shares owned by Kering, and that over the 17 years of the partnership, a split has been contemplated from time to time. Now, the discussions are said to have a more serious tenor and while no final decision has been made, an announcement could be forthcoming in the next three-to-four months. However, unravelling the partnership would take significantly more time than that given the degree of integration between Stella McCartney the company and its parent organisation.”

Stella McCartney launched her namesake label in 2001 as a joint venture with the Gucci Group (once a subsidiary of what is now known as Kering), at the time run by chief executive Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford, who designed both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. (McCartney joined from Chloé after a short but well-received stint as creative director.) Alexander McQueen joined the group in 2000.

Kering does not break out the revenues of its smaller houses, although in 2015, market sources estimated that Stella McCartney’s annual global sales were somewhere between $150 million and $200 million. However, the annual retail value of Stella McCartney products is likely significantly more thanks to branded collaborations with Procter & Gamble for beauty (including a hit fragrance business), Adidas for activewear and Bendon for lingerie. Her collection with Adidas, first launched in 2004, has become a brand in itself. McCartney then launched menswear in 2016.

Kering also owns Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Puma, Brioni, Christopher Kane and other brands. Last November, DM Fashion Book reported that Kering is set to sell Puma for $7 billion (see it here).

Stella McCartney Spring 2018 Menswear.

Stella McCartney Spring 2018 Ready-To-Wear.

Stella McCartney Spring 2018 Menswear.

Photos Credit: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv and Courtesy of Stella McCartney

Source: BoF

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Donovan

Donovan is the CEO and Editor-In-Chief of www.dmfashionbook.com. For all general inquiries please email don@dmfashionbook.com Donovan has a BA in Journalism & Media Studies from the prestigious Rutgers University. He's currently studying entertainment and fashion law.