Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli will have strategic role at Versace

MILAN (AP):

Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli will have a major strategic role as executive chairman of Versace after the Prada Group completes its 1.25 billion-euro (US$1.4 billion) deal to buy its rival, expected in the coming weeks, the Prada Group confirmed Thursday.

Bertelli, 37, has been previously announced as the future leader of the Prada Group, where he has been marketing director since 2019 and head of corporate responsibility since 2020. The elder son of acclaimed designer Miuccia Prada and Prada Group chairman Patrizio Bertelli joined the group in 2017 as head of digital communication.

Bertelli made the announcement about his next role on an Italian-language Bloomberg podcast on Wednesday.

He said he doesn’t expect any big shake-ups at Versace, at least for the first year after the acquisition is complete, as he gets to know the company and its executive team. But he underlined that the 47-year-old fashion house founded by the late Gianni Versace has been underperforming its potential.

“The brand is much bigger than the revenue that it is generating,’’ Bertelli said, noting that Versace remains among the top global fashion brands.

The Prada Group announced in April the deal to buy crosstown fashion rival Versace from the US luxury group Capri Holding, putting Versace’s sexy silhouettes under the same roof as Prada’s “ugly chic” aesthetic and Miu Miu’s youth-driven market.

Versace represented 20 per cent of its current owner’s 2024 revenue of 5.2 billion euros.

In a presentation on the deal last spring, Prada estimated that Versace would make up 13 per cent of the Prada Group’s pro-forma revenues, with Miu Miu coming in at 22 per cent and Prada at 64 per cent. The Prada Group, which also includes the Church’s and Car Shoe brands, reported a 17 per cent boost in revenues to 5.4 billion euros last year.