Struggling French House Lanvin Reportedly In Talks With Potential Buyers

Lanvin Spring 2018 Ready To Wear.

PARIS — French fashion house Lanvin may soon have a new owner. The house is reportedly in talks with potential buyers.

Lanvin is in discussions with several investors to sell a majority stake, and must conclude a deal soon or risk a liquidity crisis, according to WWD.

Among them is Mayhoola Group, which in past years has held several rounds of talks with majority owner Shaw-Lan Wang, industry sources said. In January of 2017, DM Fashion Book reported that Mayhoola for Investments, the Qatar-based parent of Valentino, Pal Zieri and Balmain had held discussions (see it here).

Mayhoola first made overtures to Lanvin in 2016, prior to purchasing Balmain (see it here), but allegedly balked at the price that Wang was asking at the time, said to be somewhere around 500 million euros, or $536.4 million at current exchange.

Seeking a buy-out could be the solution to the struggling house’s ongoing financial troubles. In November 2017, we reported it was announced that majority shareholder and Taiwan-based businesswoman Shaw-Lan Wang would inject fresh cash into the label by the year-end (see it here). And then on December 23, 2017, the expected cash injection has not taken place, and the company is looking for other ways to get through its financial troubles to revive the business, its managing director, Nicolas Druz, confirmed (see it here).

Lanvin is France‘s oldest fashion house, and the brand suffered a sales slump ever since Alber Elbaz was shockingly fired in 2015, after 14 years at the house (see it here). His successor was Bouchra Jarrar (see it here). After 15 months and two collections, Jarrar left the troubled house (see it here).

Last July 2017, it was announced that French designer Olivier Lapidus was named Lanvin‘s new artistic director, replacing Jarrar (see it here). He debuted his first, logo-heavy collection for Spring 2018, but it received less-than-stellar reviews. The house’s struggles have also turned interested buyers away, including Kering and Michael Kors Holdings. A WWD source says Kering turned down acquiring Lanvin “because of the high level of investment required to restore the house to financial health.“

Lapidus will showcase his second collection for Fall 2018 at this coming Paris Fashion Week.

Lanvin Spring 2018 Menswear.

Lanvin Spring 2018 Ready To Wear.

Lanvin Spring 2018 Menswear.

Photos Credit: Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv & Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv