November 18, 2019 update: Marcelo Burton weighed in our post on Instagram and described this story as “bullshit.”
Read the original story below.
LVMH appears to be in a mood to spend. News emerged via MFF this morning (January 18, 2019) that the French luxury house is looking at purchasing Milan-based NGG-New Guards Group a production and distribution holding company owned by founders Claudio Antonioli and Davide De Giglio, who own a combined 47 percent stake in the company. The company also was founded and is owned by Argentine designer Marcelo Burlon.
The portfolio of brands includes County of Milan, Off-White, Palm Angels, Unravel Project, Heron Preston, A Plan Application and Alanui. LVMH is said to be mainly interested in the potential of the two top brands, Marcelo Burlon and even more so Off-White, a label founded by Virgil Abloh, who is now also the menswear designer for Louis Vuitton. (See his recently presented fall 2019 collection here.)
Recently LVMH created a division for international investment (formerly called L-Capital) and according to MFF, LVMH CEO Michael Burke recently visited NGG headquarters as part of negotiations related to the purchased.
New Guard Group is said to bring in 300 million euros annually with a gross operating profit of 60 million euros and cash available of 70 million euros.
Just yesterday, news emerged that LVMH and Rihanna are in the midst of building a platform to launch a luxury fashion label.