Iro acquired by Chinese investment company Fosun

By

Anaïs Lerévérend

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 20, 2016

It is now Iro's turn to pass into the hands of an investment company. According to information published in French financial magazine Les Echos, the French fashion label has been acquired by Chinese investment company Fosun. The company was one of several candidates which approached the Rothschild Bank, in charge of the sale.

The Chinese company is notably the owner of Club Med as well as a majority shareholder of German textile giant Tom Tailor and a minority shareholder in Italian company Caruso. It has now acquired the 25% stake in Iro held by the Marciano brothers (Guess), and part of that held by Iro's founders, the brothers Laurent and Arik Bitton.

The latter still own 40% of the stock, though Fosun is now the majority shareholder. According to Les Echos, the high-end, mixed brand was for the purposes of the sale valued at approximately €130 million, equivalent to six times its EBITDA, for an annual revenue of about €60 million.

After the new owner’s arrival, Iro is planning to accelerate its international expansion, which is already well on its way. In fact, out of 25 Iro stores worldwide, only seven are located in France.

The rock music-inspired label opened four directly-owned stores in the USA, as well as several in major European capitals and in Korea, where it is working with a local partner which is planning to open the brand's sixth and seventh store in the country.

Exports already play a major part in Iro sales, including those in multi-brand and department stores. In the latter in fact, the label already operates more than sixty retail corners.