Fosun finalises acquisition of majority stake in Wolford

By

Tanissia Issad

Published
May 9, 2018

While Austrian underwear brand Wolford confirmed in March that Fosun would be acquiring a majority stake in its capital of 50.87%, the operation has only just been finalised in the past week. 

The high-end lingerie brand, which reported reduced losses and a 1.79% rise in sales in the nine-month period ended this January, is overjoyed with the acquisition. "The stake acquired by Fosun confirms once again the attractiveness of our brand and our growth prospects," Axel Dreher, Wolford CEO since 2017, declared enthusiastically. And it would indeed seem to be an opportunity for the brand to turn over a new leaf after years of successive restructuring plans, with the most recent package of cost-cutting measures having been announced only a few months ago.

"With the help of this important majority stakeholder, we'll be able to accelerate our expansion and our promising online business, while also redefining our presence on the market and putting the company back on a growth trajectory", explained Brigitte Kurz, Wolford CFO, who, it would appear, is not discounting the possibility of further restructuring actions. 

Fosun, the Chinese conglomerate which has owned Club Med since 2015 and has been making a name for itself in the diverse sectors in which it operates, including real estate, leisure, the steel industry and insurance, already picked up a struggling Lanvin in February. With this new fashion conquest, this time in the lingerie and hosiery categories, Fosun confirms its desire to play a major role in the high-end sector. 

"While China continues to drive the luxury market, Wolford can take advantage of the expanding resources of Fosun in China to expand and reinforce its luxury positioning on a global scale, while also maintaining exceptionally high quality manufacturing in Europe", stated Joann Cheng, president of Fosun Fashion Group, the Chinese investment firm's fashion division.