Prada is upbeat about Milan’s list, says the fashion group’s heiress

The heir to the Prada fashion empire says rising geopolitical tensions have made plans to register at its Milan base even more crucial to maintaining bridges between Europe and China more than a decade after going public in Hong Kong.

The Financial Times first reported last year that the $19.3 billion group, which owns brands including Prada, Miu Miu and Churchs, was exploring a dual listing to attract European investors but the process has been delayed due to initial regulatory hurdles. Prada listed shares in Hong Kong in 2011.

Speaking at the FT Luxury Business Summit in Monaco, Lorenzo Bertelli said he was optimistic on a double listing even if nothing had been decided yet, without elaborating on a timeline.

When we registered there [in Hong Kong] we saw it as a way to connect Europe to Asia, now we understand [the dual-listing in Milan] as a way to build bridges between east and west at a time of heightened global tensions, said 35-year-old Bertelli.

The European luxury group benefited from soaring sales in China following Beijing’s decision to lift all Covid-19 restrictions. But they are also facing calls from European leaders such as European Union commission president Ursula von der Leyen to reduce their business risks in the country amid greater tensions over Taiwan’s fate.

Bertelli said he also sees a threat in China, linked to rising inequality. Luxury’s biggest risk is too much social tension between rich and poor, he said of China as well as western markets.

People close to the family say Bertelli, who is head of corporate social responsibility at the group founded by his parents Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada, has been an important advisor to his parents in strategic decision-making over the years.

Bertelli, who has worked for the group since 2017, said there was little doubt he would succeed his father. Whether it’s three, four or five years from now, it doesn’t matter. That [family and management] will recognize when the time is right, he says.

The former race car driver was up for the challenge but there was no pressure, he said. I put my life on the line when I drive a car, so it’s a different kind of pressure, I always knew that if you work hard it takes the pressure off a bit because you know you’re doing your best.

On Monday he hinted at a heated family discussion about the business. My mother and I are Taurus, as is my brother and my father are Aries, so it’s quite a challenging environment, said Bertelli, tongue in cheek, adding: Working with both of your parents is not something I would recommend to anyone. anybody.

Bertelli, who studied philosophy and has a passion for sport and politics, added he supported the recent appointment of chief executive Andrea Guerra so he could learn from someone outside the family.

Prada announced in January that Guerra, the former chief executive of eyewear maker Luxottica, would soon take over from the executive group of Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada to facilitate a succession transition.

Patrizio Bertelli remains as group chairman while Miuccia Prada is co-creative director of his eponymous brand with Raf Simons. The group has also appointed its first external brand chief executive, Gianfranco DAttis.

Industry pundits and investors see Lorenzo Bertelli as one of the few magnates in the Italian fashion industry who can create a domestic luxury conglomerate to compete with the likes of Frances Kering and LVMH.

We’re looking but when the time comes we’ll have to see what’s left that makes sense for us to buy, said Bertelli.