Amsterdam and Paris, 8 March 2021. Exor N.V. (“Exor”), one of Europe’s leading family-controlled holding companies, and Christian Louboutin (“Christian Louboutin” or “the Company”) announce a partnership to accelerate the next phase of the Company’s development whereby Exor will invest €541 million to become a 24% shareholder in Christian Louboutin, alongside the founders and will nominate 2 of the 7 members of the Company’s Board of Directors. Exor’s commitment to building great companies makes it an excellent partner for Christian Louboutin at a moment when this established brand is poised to capture significant new opportunities.
Founded in 1991, Christian Louboutin has grown to become one of the leading names in global luxury, world famous for its signature red sole women’s shoes and also acknowledged for having successfully diversified its business into men’s footwear, leather goods & accessories, and beauty. Christian Louboutin has an extensive international retail presence via some 150 directly operated retail stores located in 30 countries, a worldwide network of premium wholesale relationships and has been rapidly developing its e-commerce capabilities.
Christian Louboutin has a highly regarded and experienced management team that has successfully implemented a disciplined strategy focused on excellence and growth. The Company prides itself on the unique culture of its dedicated in-house design team that is solely responsible for all aspects of the brand’s creativity.
In addition to the continuing excellent growth prospects of its footwear ranges, Christian Louboutin is well positioned to become one of the world’s preeminent luxury players. Through exclusive collaborations and drawing constant inspiration from the worlds of art, music, dance and travel, Christian Louboutin is continually developing its existing business, leveraging on the brand’s distinctive, colourful and joyful spirit, and extending conversations and communities with new generations of customers. There is significant scope to develop the Christian Louboutin brand’s presence, notably via further geographic expansion, particularly in China. The Company will continue to develop its multi-channel distribution strategy, not least by extending its existing digital and e-commerce platforms.
Commenting on Exor’s partnership with Christian Louboutin, John Elkann, Chairman and Chief Executive said:
“I have admired over the years Christian’s talent in creating one of the world’s great, independent global luxury brands. Today, we’re very excited to be joining him, Bruno and their fantastic team to work together to accelerate the development of this ambitious company. We share the same family spirit, culture and values, which are the basis of a strong partnership. Christian Louboutin’s extraordinary creativity, energy and unique vision are precisely the qualities needed to build a great company.”
Commenting on Christian Louboutin’s partnership with Exor, Christian Louboutin’s Founder, said:
“Exor is a company with a steady long-term focus and a strong entrepreneurial culture which, with my partner Bruno, we are also very attached to and where we fully recognize ourselves. It was important for me, and for the members of our company, that in order to write a new page in the history of our Maison, the partner with whom we would associate should respect our values, be open minded and should have an ambitious, young dynamism. And so it became clear that Exor would be the ideal partner with whom we would continue the Louboutin adventure, which began just 30 years ago. We are, as is my entire team, very happy with this union and we would like to thank John and the Exor team for
having taken such great care to understand the human history of our Maison in order to be able to accompany us well for the decades to come.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
About Exor
Exor is one of Europe’s largest diversified holding companies controlled by the Agnelli family. For over a century, Exor has made successful investments and built great companies worldwide with a culture that combines entrepreneurial spirit and financial discipline. With a Net Asset Value of around $29 billion, its portfolio is principally made up of companies in which Exor is a leading shareholder: Ferrari, PartnerRe, Stellantis, CNH Industrial, Juventus FC, The Economist, GEDI Gruppo Editoriale and Shang Xia.
About Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin established his business in the heart of Paris in 1991, first with a collection for Women followed by a Men’s collection a few years later, both recognizable by the signature red lacquered sole. 2014 welcomed the launch of Christian Louboutin Beauté. With a prolific collection of women’s and men’s shoes, handbags and small leather goods, Christian Louboutin now counts about 150 boutiques around the world.
