Dolce & Gabbana CEO Could Look at IPO in Future, Priority Now Is a Stronger Business

Models present creations for Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2024/25 men's collection in Milan, Italy January 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Models present creations for Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2024/25 men's collection in Milan, Italy January 13, 2024. (Reuters)
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Dolce & Gabbana CEO Could Look at IPO in Future, Priority Now Is a Stronger Business

Models present creations for Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2024/25 men's collection in Milan, Italy January 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Models present creations for Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2024/25 men's collection in Milan, Italy January 13, 2024. (Reuters)

Dolce & Gabbana is not ready for an initial public offering but is prepared to consider it in the future, the Italian luxury group's chief executive said on Monday.

"We are open to looking at (a listing) but before that we want to consolidate our business," CEO Alfonso Dolce said, answering a question at the Milano Fashion Global Summit 2024.

"We have the social responsibility of so many families," he added, referring to the group's employees, and of those working in companies that supply it.

In July, Dolce had said the fashion company was ready to assess opening up its capital to new investors either through a listing or other routes, in an interview published Corriere della Sera's L'Economia weekly supplement.

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana founded the company in 1985 and they are still in charge of creative direction.

They have no direct heirs. Alfonso and Domenico Dolce are brothers.



LVMH Third-Quarter Sales Fall 3% as China Weighs

Logo of Dior brand is seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, January 27, 2020. (Reuters)
Logo of Dior brand is seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, January 27, 2020. (Reuters)
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LVMH Third-Quarter Sales Fall 3% as China Weighs

Logo of Dior brand is seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, January 27, 2020. (Reuters)
Logo of Dior brand is seen outside a Dior store in Paris, France, January 27, 2020. (Reuters)

French luxury giant LVMH reported a 3% fall in third-quarter sales on Tuesday, its first decline in quarterly sales since the pandemic, as rising prices and economic uncertainty held back shoppers.

Revenue for the world's biggest luxury group was 19.08 billion euros ($20.8 billion) for the three months ending in September, a 3% fall on an organic basis, stripping out the effect of currencies, acquisitions and divestitures.

The figure missed a consensus estimate of 2% organic growth, according to Barclays.

The numbers will offer little reassurance to jittery investors who already had low expectations for the quarter.

The fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior labels, reported a decline of 5%, well below consensus expectations for 4% growth, and the first decline for the business since 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

Fashion and leather goods comprise almost half of LVMH revenue and nearly three-quarters of its recurring profit.

Investors have grown nervous about the luxury goods sector since a post-pandemic spending spree lost momentum last year, with Chinese appetite for high end fashion a major source of concern. The country's property crisis has weighed on shoppers' confidence, and hopes that government stimulus measures could quickly reignite enthusiasm for high-end merchandise have yet to be fulfilled.

UBS has predicted that the third quarter will be the worst for the sector in four years, with a 1% decline in organic sales year-on-year.