By Elisa Anzolin
MILAN (Reuters) – Late designer Giorgio Armani has instructed heirs to gradually sell the fashion brand he created 50 years ago or seek a stock market listing, his will said, marking a surprising turn for a company highly protective of its independence and Italian roots.
The will, reviewed by Reuters, states heirs should sell an initial 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional 30% to 54.9% stake to the same buyer between three and five years after Armani’s death.
The designer, known in the industry as “King Giorgio”, died on September 4, at 91 and with no children to inherit his fashion empire.
The will also says that priority should be given to luxury giant LVMH, beauty heavyweight L’Oreal, eyewear leader EssilorLuxottica or another group of “equal standing” identified by a foundation the designer set up to preserve his legacy with the agreement of Armani’s business and life partner Pantaleo Dell’Orco.
As an alternative to the sale of the second tranche of shares, an initial public offering should be pursued, in Italy or in a market of equal standing, it said.
It was not immediately clear what would happen if one of the heirs or the foundation did not fulfill the instructions on a sale set out in the will.
The explicit mention of stake sales and of France-listed players as potential buyers comes as a surprise, given Giorgio Armani’s persistent refusal to dilute his control or list his fashion group on the stock market. It could also spur a race to secure a slice of the brand, which industry experts say has retained its appeal despite a global luxury slowdown.
EssilorLuxottica, controlled by the heirs of Italian entrepreneur Leonardo Del Vecchio and with commercial ties to Armani, said in a statement it would consider a possible deal.
“We’re proud of the consideration our group and its management received from Mr Armani,” a spokesperson for EssilorLuxottica told Reuters.
“Together with the board we’ll carefully assess such a development prospect given the deep ties already existing between the two groups.”
ARMANI’S WILL PROJECTS FASHION GROUP INTO A NEW ERA
Over the years, the maker of popular unstructured suits that gained him international fame received several approaches, including one in 2021 from John Elkann, scion of Italy’s Agnelli family, and another from luxury brand Gucci, when Maurizio Gucci was still at the helm.
Armani was the sole major shareholder of the company he set up with his late partner Sergio Galeotti in the 1970s and over which he maintained a tight rein – both creative and managerial – until the very end.
He has left behind no children to inherit the business, which generated relatively stable revenue – 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in 2024 – but whose profits have shrunk amid a broad luxury industry recession.
The will, which lists six different types of shares with different voting rights, gives the Fondazione Giorgio Armani and life partner and right-hand man Pantaleo Dell’Orco 30% and 40% of the company voting rights, respectively, meaning they would together control the fashion group with 70% of voting rights combined.
The foundation will retain a 30.1% stake in a listing, according to the will.
Its five-member board will be chaired by Dell’Orco, in accordance with the foundation’s bylaws. Other board members include Rothschild partner Irving Bellotti, Armani’s nephew Andrea Camerana and two family outsiders, a person close to the matter told Reuters.
Heirs should consider other fashion and luxury companies with which the Armani group has commercial ties for a future sale, the will also said.
The Armani group has commercial partnerships with both L’Oreal and EssilorLuxottica.
Yet, with a market value of 240 billion euros and a reputation for being a patient and supporting minority investor, conglomerate LVMH controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault may ultimately prevail.
“We think that LVMH would likely be the most interested, of the three, in a stake, were it to become available, given the strategic fit,” analysts at Berenberg said in a note. They said the group could easily afford to buy Armani, which they valued at between 5 and 7 billion euros.
(Writing by Lisa Jucca, editing by Giulia Segreti and Tomasz Janowski)
