B-of-Fasion : Kering Confirms Stella McCartney Split

Kering Confirms Stella McCartney Split
The French luxury conglomerate is selling its 50 percent share of the label back to the designer after a 17-year partnership.

PARIS, France — Kering is selling its 50-percent stake in fashion label Stella McCartney back to the namesake designer after a 17-year partnership, confirming previous reports by BoF. The news follows a report by BoF on February 23 revealing that a formal transition process was already in motion and an announcement was imminent.

“It is the right moment to acquire the full control of the company bearing my name," said Stella McCartney. "This opportunity represents a crucial patrimonial decision for me. I am extremely grateful to Francois-Henri Pinault and his family and everyone at the Kering group for everything we have built together in the last 17 years. I look forward to the next chapter of my life and what this brand and our team can achieve in the future.”

“It is the right time for Stella to move to the next stage," added François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering. "Kering is a luxury group that empowers creative minds and helps disruptive ideas become reality. I am extremely proud of what Kering and Stella McCartney have accomplished together since 2001."

McCartney had the option to buy back the shares in the label owned by Kering until March 31, according to the terms of their joint venture. Kering's 50-50 deal with McCartney dates back to 2001.

Kering and Stella McCartney have previously acknowledged separation talks on more than one occasion over the course of their partnership, and a source with first-hand knowledge of the matter says today's announcement was originally slated for early January.

McCartney’s father, musician Paul McCartney, is said to have played a role in helping to finance the buyback — a time-consuming and expensive process — although this could not be independently confirmed. A spokesperson for McCartney previously told BoF that her father has never been involved with the business.

The disposal of Stella McCartney comes at a time when Kering is streamlining its portfolio and focusing attention on fashion labels like Gucci — the group’s cash cow and a blockbuster success under the duo of Marco Bizzarri and Alessandro Michele — Saint Laurent and the still small but white-hot and fast-growing Balenciaga, designed by Demna Gvasalia. In early January, Kering announced that it would spin off German sportswear brand Puma to its own shareholders, a move welcomed by analysts as the conglomerate finally fulfills its long-held pledge to become a pure luxury player.

McCartney first made her mark at Richemont-owned fashion label Chloé, before launching her eponymous brand in partnership with Gucci Group (once a subsidiary of what is now Kering), at the time run by chief executive Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford, who designed both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. As a lifelong vegetarian, the London-born designer does not use animal products like leather or fur in her designs, and has turned her British take on modern femininity and tailoring into a global brand.

Kering does not break out earnings for its smaller fashion brands, but, in 2015, market sources estimated that Stella McCartney’s annual global sales were somewhere between $150 million and $200 million, although the annual retail value of Stella McCartney products is likely higher thanks to branded collaborations with Procter & Gamble for beauty and Bendon for lingerie. Her activewear collection with Adidas, first launched in 2004, has become a brand in itself. In 2016, the designer launched menswear.

The split comes shortly after Kering announced its most profitable year on record, with group net profits soaring 120 percent in 2017, driven by “spectacular” growth at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent as well as a strong performance by Balenciaga, which was the group’s fastest-growing brand in the fourth quarter.

The luxury conglomerate — whose stable also includes Bottega Veneta, Boucheron and Alexander McQueen — posted sales of €15.5 billion (about $19.2 billion) in 2017. The results were a gain of 27.2 percent compared to the previous year. Revenues generated by the group’s luxury division topped €10 billion for the first time, with Gucci crossing the €6 billion mark in sales over the period.

>>> Telia eyes all possible options in Norway with focus on broadband (translate

Telia eyes all possible options in Norway with focus on broadband

Telia [HEL:TELIA1], the Nordic telco operator, is eyeing all possible options for acquisitions in Norway with particular focus on broadband, according to Affarsvarlden.
The Swedish-language item cited Telia CEO Johan Dennelind as speaking in an interview with news agency Direkt.
Telia's wish-list includes acquisitions in the broadband and mobile telephony sector and is looking at all possible available options in Norway, the report said. The company has no presence in the broadband sector in Norway, and a very small presence in Denmark, the item went on to add.
Telia does not exclude complementary acquisitions in mobile and broadband across Sweden, Finland and the Baltics Region where it already has a presence, the item further added.

>>> GKN bidder Melrose says GKN board plans to sell up to 90% of group

GKN bidder Melrose says GKN board plans to sell up to 90% of group
29 MAR 2018
GKN [LON:GKN] bidder Melrose Industries [LON:MRO] has challenged the FTSE-100 engineering group’s board to deny plans to sell 90% of the company, The Times reported.
The report cited Melrose’s final statement on its hostile takeover bid for GKN on Wednesday, 28 March, in which Melrose said:
“Despite promising to "improve, grow and develop" the businesses, the GKN Board now appears to intend selling up to 90% of the entire company”
According to The Times, Melrose challenged the GKN board to deny that they plan not only to sell the company’s automotive components arm Driveline to Dana Corp [NYSE:DAN] but also its powder metallurgy operations and the parts of its aerospace operations not involved in engine production. GKN has already announced that an agreed sale of Driveline to Dana and has previously indicated plans to sell its powder metallurgy arm.
No denial was forthcoming from GKN, which instead retorted that it had not been forced to make similar commitments to Melrose’s promise to maintain British ownership of GKN, the report said. Melrose this week made a commitment to the UK government that it would not dispose of GKN’s Aerospace arm without the government’s permission before 2023.
Melrose's statement referred to an interview with GKN finance director Jos Sclater in the Financial Times on 21 March, in which Sclater said splitting off GKN’s aerospace structure operations - which makes components for wings and fuselages - was a definite possibility in the future.
GKN would not comment on its intentions with regards to its aerostructures operations beyond its most recent formal response, The Times reported. GKN said Melrose’s commitment not to sell the aerospace arm for five years had limited “strategic flexibility.”
A Financial Times report on 28 March cited people close to the bid who suggested that GKN will probably lose, as more than 20% of the company’s shares are in the hands of short-term shareholders.
The deadline for GKN shareholders to accept Melrose’s offer is 1pm on Thursday.
GKN’s share price closed 7.3p down at 423.0p in London on Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP 7.27bn (EUR 8.30bn).