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The Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani could soon be sold or become a publicly listed company, according to the late founder’s will.
The fashion designer, who died last week at the age of 91, has said in his will that he wants his heirs to sell a 15% stake in the business within 18 months.
And three to five years after that he has instructed that an additional 30% to 54.9% stake be sold to the same buyer, according to a copy of the will reported on by Reuters.
The will also says that an initial public offering could be pursued as an alternative.
It says priority should be given to the luxury business LVMH, which is controlled by France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, the beauty firm L’Oréal or the eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, a commercial partner of Armani.
Armani stated his heirs should also consider other fashion and luxury companies in which Giorgio Armani has commercial ties.
Armani was the sole major shareholder of the eponymous company he set up, Giorgio Armani SpA, with his late partner Sergio Galeotti in the 1970s.
He maintained tight managerial and creative control throughout his career and reportedly refused numerous offers to become part of one of the big four luxury fashion conglomerates.
He described the independence of his brand as “an essential value”.
Armani made €2.3bn in revenues last year, and over the decades the group has expanded to include a collection of hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, cosmetics, chocolates and even floristry.
In an interview with the Financial Times, published days before his death, Armani explained how he planned to pass on his vast estate.
“My plans for succession consist of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that I have always handled to those closest to me … such as Leo Dell’Orco [the head of the men’s style office], the members of my family and the entire working team.” He added that he “would like the succession to be organic and not a moment of rupture”.
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Armani has no children and the heirs to the fashion house are considered to be his sister, Rosanna, and nieces and nephew – Silvana, Roberta and Andrea – as well as his partner and right-hand man, Dell’Orco.
His family members all have positions on the board, with the nieces and nephew also holding senior positions in the luxury fashion house.
Born in Piacenza in northern Italy in 1934, Armani originally pursued a career in medicine. He left the University of Milan before completing his degree to join the army. Shortly after, he began looking for a different type of career.
After working as a window dresser and later a sales associate at La Rinascente, a notable department store in Milan, he took on a menswear design role at Nino Cerruti.
Armani was 41 when he launched his own label. It was Galeotti, an architect by training, who convinced him to sell his Volkswagen Beetle to fund his own company. Galeotti ran the books while Armani focused on the creative side. When Galeotti died in 1985, Armani continued alone.
