Prada hopes Reuters will join the Richemont-Farfetch talks about the online link

By Claudia Cristoferi and Silvia Aloisi

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian fashion group Prada (OTC 🙂 is hoping to join talks between owner Cartier Richemont and Farfetch (NYSE 🙂 online retailer about launching a unified e-commerce platform to boost online sales and increase overall revenue. 40%.

Richemont said last week he was in advanced negotiations with Farfetch to sell a minimum stake in the Yoox Net-a-Porter (MI 🙂 online business. He added that he will also invite other companies without YNAP to become a platform for the entire industry without major shareholders.

Farfetch CEO Jose Neves said luxury brands are still trading in the company’s third-quarter earnings call. He was unable to give time on the transaction, “there is no guarantee that the agreements will be properly executed.”

“I think … they will invite us to participate in the discussions,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, the group’s 33-year-old head of marketing and son of CEO Patrizio Bertelli, at the investors ’presentation in Milan.

“It’s too early and the scenario isn’t clear enough to answer yet, but we’re not saying‘ no ’a priori,” Prada said when asked if he could invest in the company.

Patrizio Bertelli, who with his wife and creative designer Miuccia Prada, vowed to turn a family brand into one of the world’s largest luxury groups and remain independent, said he could hand it over to Lorenzo in the next three to four years. . Senior Bertelli is 75 years old.

SALES PURPOSE

Announcing Prada’s medium-term strategy, the couple said sales were set to reach 4.5 billion euros ($ 5.1 billion), compared to 3.2 billion euros in 2019 before the pandemic hit, and reached a record sales of 3.6 billion euros in 2013.

The focus will be on Prada’s upward marketing and online doubling of its online retail share to 15% – still below the industry average of around 20% but above the previous 2% of the global health emergency.

The Hong Kong-listed group, known for its minimalist looks, was at the center of a strategic innovation to boost sales when the crisis hit retailers around the world, forcing stores to temporarily close and eliminate tourist shopping.

On Thursday, it said retail sales grew by 18% in the three months to September compared to the same period in 2019, faster than the 13% growth rate in the second quarter.

After falling to 2.4 trillion euros in 2020, it expects revenue to grow above 2019 levels this year.

It aims to achieve an operating profit of 20% of all sales in the medium term, more than double the 2019 level, and some analysts believe the target is perfect compared to brands like Gucci or Louis Vuitton.

Executives said Prada, which is less likely to suffer from leather products and handbags than its rivals, plans to invest in those product categories to increase margins. “We believe these goals are not ambitious, reasonable and realistic,” said team finance chief Alessandra Cozzani.

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