FOSUN GROUP
COMPANIES AND ENTREPRENEURS , F
Fosun Group is a private investment company founded in 1992 in Shanghai by four students from Fudan University.
International’s story of Fosun
Fosun International has grown by taking over a good number of companies, and it chairs real estate and steel companies, the Greek jewelry brand Folli Follie, the French tour operator Club Med and an insurance company that was a group company of the Portuguese bank Caixa Geral de Depositos. It also owns a stake in Cirque du Soleil, the popular Canadian neo-circus company.
The company intends to position its insurance branch as a central unit and use its large funds to invest in assets that will serve Chinese rising incomes.
It is also actively investing in real estate and other businesses in Japan. In 2014, Fosun Property acquired the Japanese company Idera Capital Management. Since then, Fosun has purchased several office buildings in central Tokyo via Idera.
In 2004 a new holding of the group, Fosun International Limited, was established in Hong Kong. In July 2007, Fosun International was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
2015 represents the year in which Fosun acquired the former Unicredit headquarters located in Piazza Cordusio in Milan for 345 million euros. The project involves a total investment of 440 million euros to transform the building into an open space available to the city with offices, shops and restaurants. The new complex will be called the Medelan and will be ready in 2021.
On the 21st of July 2016 the Fosun group entered the sports world by acquiring the English team Wolverhampton Wanderes from its previous owner, Steve Morgan, for around 45 million pounds. And it also enters India with strong investments in the real estate and pharmaceutical markets. In March 2017 CEO Liang Xinjun resigned and Wang Qunbin was appointed in his place.
Fashion Group of Fosun
Fosun Fashion Group is a branch of the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. In 2018 the group entered the high fashion and luxury arena.
In the same year it acquired a stake of around 100 million euros in the French brand Lanvin, successfully designed for 14 years by Alber Elbaz. Bruno Sialelli has been the artistic director of the brand since 2019. Under the management of Ffg, Lanvin took a new strategic direction and doubled the expansion in China. With this in mind, at the end of 2020 the brand hired Calvin Luo, based in Shanghai, as a consultant to work on merchandising and product development.
Importantly, in the same sector, Fosun already controls the Italian Caruso (specialized in haute couture), the US knitwear brand John Knits, the lingerie brand Wolford and Tom Tailor.
In March 2020, the company acquired a 55.4% stake in the French jewelry brand Djula. During the same year an agreement was signed with a group of Italian jewelers to develop the Damiani and Salvini brands in China.
The Fosun group also owns brands such as Christian Louboutin, Birkenstock and Dr. Martens all recently involved in agreements or quotation processes.
Sergio Rossi’s entry into Fosun
In 2021, the Chinese conglomerate Fosun Fashion Group acquired 100% of the company Sergio Rossi, an iconic footwear company founded in 1951.
The fashion holding of Fosun International Limited, a conglomerate founded in 1992 is present in sectors ranging from tourism to sports, from insurance to pharmaceuticals. It marks a milestone in the development of Ffg itself.
The Chinese group already owns the Italian Caruso, the French Lanvin, the Austrian Wolford and the American St. John. By announcing this new acquisition, it has made it clear that it considers itself the first Chinese group to want to become a global luxury hub. Absolute Luxury Holding Srl was responsible for the sale, followed by the advisor Rothschild. The closing will be in July but the terms of the financial transaction are still top secret.
News was released by WWD. The specialized magazine which also indicates that Fosun is still looking for acquisitions in the luxury sector, in which it is building its portfolio.
“This acquisition not only completes a strategic brand ecosystem, but also creates potential synergies between brands through Sergio Rossi’s wholly owned factory.”
Entry of Sergio Rossi in Fosun, in fact, not only completes the group’s brand portfolio but also creates potential synergies among the brands. Thanks to the state of the art factory owned by Sergio Rossi in Romagna, in San Mauro Pascoli, that is destined to have a central role in Fosun’s strategies.
Notably, the company closed 2020 with a turnover of 60 million euros, it manages 64 boutiques, including 45 owned flagship stores in the main luxury locations in Europe, Japan and Greater China, as well as a franchise network. There are currently eight directly operated stores in mainland China, while four are in Hong Kong, in addition to some franchise stores.
Acquisition of the iconic Sergio Rossi company by Fosun Group.
Fosun Fashion Group becomes Lanvin Group
Fashion division of the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International changes its name to Lanvin Group. Chinese fashion firm changes its name to highlight the high-profile acquisitions it has perfected in recent years.
Significantly, the new loan, worth $ 150 million, comes from the Japanese company Itochu, the Hong Kong footwear manufacturer Stella International and the private equity firm Xizhi Capital. French group Lanvin now aims at expanding its presence in Asia and the United States, strengthening its portfolio with luxury and premium brands.
Currently, the Lanvin group manages an asset portfolio of more than $ 120 billion. It is present on the market with the five brands Lanvin, Sergio Rossi, St. John, Wolford and Caruso, with more than 1,000 stores, 200 boutiques and 3,500 employees in more than 60 countries. In the past 15 months, it has opened 25 stores, including 19 in China.
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