Lanvin to target US consumers via Shopify platform
Lanvin Group, a subsidiary of mainland conglomerate Fosun International, has announced a partnership with Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce website, to bring European fashion brands to the US market.
“Our goal is to have online sales in North America reach 25 per cent [of the total] in 2025, compared with around 13 per cent now,” group chairman and CEO Joann Cheng said.
“Digitalisation is a global trend, especially in the United States and China.”
Lanvin Group, formerly Fosun Fashion Group, was created in 2017 as part of the mainland company’s strategy of diversifying its business portfolio.
It acquired a controlling stake in the century-old French fashion house Lanvin in 2018 when the brand was struggling after the departure of star designer Alber Elbaz.
The group rebranded itself as Lanvin last October and took on three new investors: Japanese trading conglomerate Itochu Corp, Hong Kong-listed footwear maker Stella International and private equity firm Xizhi Capital.
It has also bought Italian shoemaker Sergio Rossi, Austrian lingerie maker Wolford, American knitwear brand St. John and Italian menswear brand Caruso.
Lanvin and Sergio Rossi will be the first among the brands to transition onto the Shopify platform for North America in the latter half of 2022.
Lanvin, with a valuation of US$1.5 billion, is expected to go public on the New York Stock Exchange next quarter after it agreed last month to merge with a US “blank-cheque” company backed by Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital.
Despite claiming a growth rate that outpaces all luxury giants including LVMH and Kering, Lanvin has not turned a profit. Last month, co-chief operating officer David Chan said the company expected to reach profitability by 2024.
Cheng said the US and China markets were key for the group.
“The two markets share similarities in digital capabilities, both are digital-driven and social media-driven,” she said.
Chinese companies have not always been successful in managing Western fashion brands.
Textile giant Shandong Ruyi Technology Group, which once aspired to be China’s answer to LVMH, undertook US$6.6 billion worth of acquisitions between 2015 and 2019, including British trench coat maker Aquascutum, French fashion group SMCP and fabric maker Lycra.
However, the brands are now facing debt woes and some may end up in creditors’ hands, according to media reports.
Yishu Wang, a director at marketing consultancy Half A World which helps young Chinese brands grow, said it was natural for Lanvin to team up with Shopify, which has brand recognition in North America.
“Legacy luxury brands usually have established systems, but new consumer brands prefer Shopify as a one-stop management tool for logistics, social media, email marketing and referral affiliates on the back-end,” Wang said.