The heir to Prada’s fashion empire said rising geopolitical tensions, more than a decade after listing in Hong Kong, made plans to list at its headquarters in Milan all the more important to maintain a “bridge” between Europe and China.
The Financial Times first reported last year that the $19.3 billion group, which owns brands including Prada, Miu Miu and Church’s, was exploring a dual listing to attract European investors, but the process was delayed by initial regulatory hurdles . Prada was listed in Hong Kong in 2011.
Speaking at the FT Luxury Business Summit in Monaco, Lorenzo Bertelli said he was “optimistic about a dual listing, even if nothing has been decided yet,” without elaborating on when.
“When we listed there (in Hong Kong), we saw it as a way to connect Europe with Asia, now we see it (the dual listing in Milan) as a bridge between East and West at a time when global tensions are rising. a way of building bridges,” said Bertelli, 35.
European luxury groups are benefiting from a boom in sales in China following Beijing’s decision to lift all Covid-19 restrictions. But they also face calls from European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to “de-risk” their operations in the country amid heightened tension over Taiwan’s fate.
Bertelli said he also sees threats within China linked to growing inequality. “The biggest risk for luxury goods is too much social tension between rich and poor,” he said of Chinese and Western markets.
Bertelli was head of corporate social responsibility at the group founded by his parents, Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, and was a strategic decision-maker for his parents for many years, people close to the family said. important advisor.
Bertelli, who has been with the group since 2017, said he had no doubt he would eventually succeed his father. “Whether it’s three, four or five years from now, it doesn’t matter. (The family and management) will recognize that in due course,” he said.
He said the former racing driver was ready for the “challenge”, but without the pressure. “I was risking my life driving so it was a different kind of pressure and I always knew that if you work hard then the pressure goes away a little bit because you know you did your best.”
On Monday, he hinted that the family would have heated discussions about the business. “My mother and I are Taurus, my brother is also, and my father is an Aries, so it’s been a very challenging environment,” Bertelli joked, adding: “I wouldn’t recommend working with anyone. Both parents work together.”
Bertelli, who studies philosophy and is passionate about sports and politics, added that he supports the recent appointment of chief executive Andrea Guerra so he can “learn from people outside the family”.
Prada announced in January that Guerra, the former CEO of eyewear maker Luxottica, would immediately succeed group executives Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada to facilitate the transition.
Patrizio Bertelli continues as group chairman, while Miuccia Prada joins Raf Simons as co-creative director of the eponymous label. The group has also appointed the brand’s first external CEO, Gianfranco D’Attis.
Industry experts and investors see Lorenzo Bertelli as one of the few Italian fashion luminaries able to create a domestic luxury conglomerate to compete with the likes of France’s Kering and LVMH.
“We’re looking, but when the time comes, we’re going to have to see what are the remaining purchases that make sense for us,” Bertelli said.