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PPR buys Italian luxury family business Brioni

By Rashmi Kumar

The family behind luxury goods maker PPR has acquired Italian men’s wear maker Brioni, owned by descendants of its founding families, as the Paris-based holding company continues to ramp up its portfolio of luxury brands.

The purchase of Brioni, famous for making tuxedos for James Bond films, was for an undisclosed amount.

“We have great ambitions for this fashion house [Brioni]. We will give it access to our expertise and know-how, so that it can write a new page in its history while continuing to preserve its identity,” said second-generation Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of PPR, in a statement.

The purchase of high-end Brioni, until now controlled by descendants of the company founders Nazareno Fonticoli and Gaetano Saviani, is in line with Pinault’s plans to reorganise the family business to focus on luxury goods, sports and lifestyle businesses. PPR recently purchased another family business in the luxury sector, the Macaluso family-owned watchmaker Sowind Group, to add to its luxury portfolio.

Founded in 1963 by Francois Pinault, PPR had 2010 revenues of €14.6 billion. Penne-based Brioni, which had sales of around €170 million in 2010, was founded in 1945. Its current chief executive is non-family Francesco Pesci, who was appointed to the position in 2010 following the resignation of Andrea Perrone, grandson of one of the founders.

Another family member Antonella De Simone, granddaughter of Fonticoli, also works at the company. The family business was rated as the top brand in men’s fashion in the US by the 2011 Luxury Brand Status Index.

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