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From Milan to Riyadh... Marangoni International Institute to Open in 2025

Officials are seen at the press conference on Tuesday. (Photo: Turki al-Okaili)
Officials are seen at the press conference on Tuesday. (Photo: Turki al-Okaili)
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From Milan to Riyadh... Marangoni International Institute to Open in 2025

Officials are seen at the press conference on Tuesday. (Photo: Turki al-Okaili)
Officials are seen at the press conference on Tuesday. (Photo: Turki al-Okaili)

Istituto Marangoni, one of the top fashion universities in Milan, unveiled a strategic partnership with the Saudi Fashion Commission to establish an institute in Riyadh in 2025.

The announcement came during a press conference in the Saudi capital on Tuesday, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Culture Hamed bin Mohammed Fayez.

According to a statement, the institute’s mission in the Kingdom is to open new horizons for developing local talent, empowering women, and enhancing employment with the aim to transform the fashion sector into a dynamic market for young consumers and innovators in the digital world. The institute will be accredited by the Saudi Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC).

The institute aims to provide academic services designed to boost career paths in the fields of fashion, business and luxury management. The main academic program includes a 3-year advanced diploma, and is available in specific basic areas, such as fashion product design and management, creative direction, perfume and cosmetics management and interior design.

Officials underlined the importance of this partnership, which they said reflected efforts to bolster foreign investments in the Kingdom.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Chief Executive Officer of the Fashion Commission of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture Burak Cakmak said the partnership with the Marangoni Institute was a good indicator of the foreign investors’ interest to work in the fashion sector in the Kingdom.

He added that the authority has worked over the past three years on many aspects to empower the sector, including identifying local brands, providing programs to professionalize business, and supporting talent at the international and local levels, leading to the launch of Fashion Week in Riyadh in October last year.

Managing Director of Istituto Marangoni Stefania Valenti explained that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has encouraged the institute to work with the Kingdom, pointing to the presence of a consistent program led by the Saudi Fashion Commission.

Moreover, she added that the growth of local and international brands in the Saudi market requires ready creative management.

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Fashion

LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares in LVMH (LVMH.PA) fell as much as 6.5% in early Wednesday trade and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since October 2023 after second-quarter sales growth at the French luxury goods giant missed analysts' consensus estimate.

The world's biggest luxury group said late Tuesday its quarterly sales rose 1% year on year to 20.98 billion euros ($22.76 billion), undershooting the 21.6 billion expected on average by analysts polled by LSEG.

At 1000 GMT, LVMH's shares were down 4.5%.

The earnings miss weighed on other luxury stocks, with Hermes (HRMS.PA), down around 2% and Kering (PRTP.PA), off 3%.

Kering is scheduled to report second-quarter sales after the market close and Hermes reports on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Jittery investors are looking for evidence that the industry will pick up from a recent slowdown, as inflation-hit shoppers hold off from splashing out on designer fashion.

JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini cut full year profit forecasts by 2-3% for the group, citing softer trends at LVMH's fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior.

"The soft print is likely to add to ongoing investors’ concerns on the sector more broadly in our view, confirming that even best-in-class players like LVMH cannot be immune from the challenging backdrop," said Battistini in a note to clients.

The weakness of the yen, which has prompted a flood of Chinese shoppers to Japan seeking bargains on luxury goods, added pressure to margins, another source of concern.

Equita cut 2024 sales estimates for LVMH by 3% - attributing 1% to currency fluctuations - and lowered its second half organic sales estimate to 7% growth from 10% growth previously.

The lack of visibility for the second half beyond the easing of comparative figures - as the Chinese post-pandemic lockdown bounce tapered off a year ago - is unlikely to improve investor sentiment to the luxury sector, Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said in an email to clients.

"No miracle with the luxury bellwether; sector likely to remain out of favour," he wrote.

Jefferies analysts said the miss came as investors eye Chinese shoppers for their potential to "resume their pre-COVID role as the locomotive of industry growth and debate when Western consumers will have fully digested their COVID overspend".

LVMH shares have been volatile since the luxury slowdown emerged, and are down about 20% over the past year, with middle-class shoppers in China, the world's No. 2 economy, a key focus as they rein in purchases at home amid a property slump and job insecurity.

LVMH offered some reassurance, with finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony telling analysts during a call on Tuesday that Chinese customers were "holding up quite well," while business with US and European customers was "slightly better".