French luxury house LVMH has taken a controlling interest in Italian jeweller Repossi.
The group quietly increased its 42-per-cent stake in the heritage jewellery brand to 69 per cent last year, and has since focused on expanding Repossi’s retail network, with openings in Tokyo and New York in the works for later this year. The brand recently launched at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.
“The goal is to finance the brand’s international expansion,” said Repossi CEO Benjamin Comar.
While the hard-luxury category only contributes a modest amount to the brand’s overall takings, LVMH’s investment signals a continuing interest in the potential of the hard-luxury market, thought to be rapidly expanding among young Asian consumers in particular.