News On 5 July this year, the Sowind Group and PPR announced the launch of a reserved capital increase in the Sowind Group, subscribed in full by PPR, after which the French group will become the majority shareholder of the company with 50.1% of the capital. Hitherto, PPR held 23% of the capital based on a partnership agreement signed in 2008.
The CEO of PPR, François-Henri Pinault, said: «This operation strengthens PPR’s luxury division in the high-end watch segment thanks to the potential of a brand as prestigious as Girard-Perregaux. It will support the international growth of the Sowind Group, both in terms of product development and distribution. This agreement is part of a corporate plan which has long been on the drawing board with the Macaluso family, with whom we share an ambitious vision of long-term growth. In this respect, I’m delighted to be able to count on Stefano Macaluso as Managing Director of Girard-Perregaux and on Massimo Macaluso as Managing Director of JeanRichard and head of industrial activities.»
For her part, Monica Mailander Macaluso, President of the Sowind Group, remarked: «Our choice for PPR to play a more important role at our side is wholly consistent with the decision taken in 2008 by my husband to consolidate a financial and managerial partnership providing the means for a luxury watch manufacturer such as ourselves to develop on the world market. It is for this reason that our direct involvement in group management remains unchanged, as does our intention to guarantee the best expertise to our partners, not only at the level of technological innovation but also in terms of design strategy, product development and marketing.»
For information, the PPR group, with a 60,000 strong workforce, owns a stable of luxury and sports brands (Gucci, Boucheron, Puma, etc) distributed in more than 120 countries. In 2010, it recorded a turnover of 14.6 billion Euros.
August 25, 2011