faustian bargain
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2004
- Messages
- 2,444
- Reaction score
- 2
http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/news/prada.htm#270406
Prada may sell Church shoemaker stake
The Italian luxury group Prada could be forced to sell its 45-per cent stake in the top shoemaker Church's because of financial difficulties, the daily La Stampa reported yesterday.
“Despite the disposals made so far, we have not managed to achieve the hoped-for results,” an unidentified merchant banker told the daily.
“New disposals could be envisaged and in that case, the holding in Church's will be put on the market,” the banker added. “A definitive decision has yet to be taken,” he said, adding that it was down to the Prada group's chairman Patrizio Bertelli, designer Miuccia Prada's husband.
Banks are concerned about the group's heavy debts. According to the latest figures available at the end of January 2005, consolidated debt on group level was 818 million euros ($1.01bn). Prada has already got rid of two loss-making labels, Helmut Lang and Jil Sander, which had weighed heavily on its accounts for several years.
When it announced the cessation of the Helmut Lang label on March 17, the group said this was the final step in the strategic reorganisation plan announced at the end of 2005.
26 April 2006