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Italian label Trussardi about to strike deal for sale to Quattro R
After many rumours and denials, the negotiations between Italian label Trussardi and investment fund Quattro R are reportedly in sight of the finishing line. Quattro R, led by Andrea Morante and Francesco Conte, is said to be days away from clinching a deal to buy an 80% stake in Trussardi, through a share capital increase worth at least €50 million.
According to Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, it is only a matter of settling a few details before the negotiation between the label’s eponymous family and Quattro R will be settled.
Specifically, the deal’s closure is said to depend on the issue of Trussardi’s creditor banks’ exposure. Last March, a consortium of banks financed Trussardi to the tune of €51.5 million, with the goal of relaunching the label in the contemporary luxury segment.
A restructuring plan is under way, leading to the closing down of the Tru Trussardi label, and enabling the group to focus on the main Trussardi line and on Trussardi Jeans, which targets younger consumers. The reorganisation effort was made more complex by the unexpected departure last April of Gaia Trussardi, the label’s creative director and sister of Trussardi’s CEO Tomaso Trussardi.
The long-established Italian label, now controlled by the fourth generation of the eponymous founding family via the Finos holding company, is going through a troubled patch: the 2017 financial year closed with losses for €30.6 million, and a return to profitability is not forecast before 2019.
The intervention of Quattro R, one of whose minority shareholders is Italy’s state-owned merchant bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, could put a brake on the seemingly endless string of acquisitions of Italian labels by foreign buyers. In September, a major name like Versace changed hands, bought by US group Michael Kors (now Capri Holdings Limited), and the same is happening to niche brands too, like luxury footwear label A.Testoni, recently bought by Hong Kong group Sitoy.
Trussardi was founded in 1911 by Dante Trussardi as a leather goods manufacturer, initially specialising in luxury gloves (it was even appointed as official supplier to the British royal house). Trussardi has evolved into a fashion and lifestyle label currently present in 47 countries via 177 monobrand stores and over 1,500 multibrand retailers.
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