2019-08-26 Bloomberg Businessweek

HUNTSMAN

Belgian-born

financierPierre

Lagrangebought

thisWinston

Churchillfavorite

(est.1849)for

anundisclosed

amountin2013.

It hadnetassets

ofa littlemore

than£1million($1.2million).

Lagrangehassinceexpanded

toNewYork;MarcJacobs

commissioneda suitforhis

weddinginApril.

RICHARDJAMES

Americanreal

estatetycoonand

AcademyAward-

nominatedfilm

producerCharles

Cohenpurchased

thisrelatively

newkidonthe

block(est.1992)—

andHarrysof

London—inMarch

2017.Hehassinceinstalleda

2,000-square-footoutpostof

theshoponthegroundfloorof

hisRitzTowerinNewYork.

GIEVES&

AWKES

Therewassome

hand-wringing

thatLondonmight

loseitsheritage

brandswhen

WilliamFung,the

HongKongretail

magnate,snapped

p Gieves&

Hawkes(est.1771),

tailortoPrince

WilliamandDavidBeckham,for

morethan£32millionin2012.

Butafteryearsoflosses,the

brandatNo.1 SavileRowhas

stabilizedandis expanding

witha ready-to-wearcollection

aswellasnewboutiques

throughoutAsia.

60

currentlyemploys 226 artisans,almostfour

timesmorethanthenumberatChristianDior

Couture’sateliers.

Itsmostrecentfinancialsshowedsales

of£14.3million($17.3million)throughthe

12 monthsendedMarch2017.Althoughrev-

enueatthebusinessjumpedby45%from

2016,it hadanoperatinglossof£2.5 million,

accordingtocompanyfilings,almost40%

largerthanthepreviousyear’sloss.A filing

footnoteattributedthisto“increasedpromo-

tionsandexhibitioncosts,whichwillhope-

fullyresultinanincreaseinprofitabilityin

thefuture.”A brandspokeswomansaidthe

companyexpectstobeprofitablethisyear.

Itisn’tthatunusualfornewish,rapidly

growingbrandstoattractbig-pocketedinves-

torsevenasthey’relosingmoney,“especially

thosethataregrowingsalesonlineanddirect-

to-consumer,asthey’reseenashavinghigher

growthpotential,”saysMaximeBoucher,a

luxuryanalystforBloombergIntelligence.

Hecitestworecentexamples:LVMH,which

acquireda minoritystakeinGabrielaHearst

inJanuary,andMovadoGroupInc.,which

boughtwatchstartupMVMTinAugust 2018

justastheLosAngeles-basedbrandwasturn-

ingprofitable.

The timing is curious, though. The

investorWindhorst,42,was oncefeted

asa wunderkindbuthasbeendoggedby

severalnear-flameouts, includinga per-

sonalbankruptcyanda corporate insol-

vency.Theacquisitionofa stakeinRalph

&RussocameonlyweeksafterH2OAsset

Management LLP, Windhorst’s biggest

backer,suffered€8billion($8.9billion)of

redemptionsbecauseofitsinvestmentswith

theGermanfinancier,whosecheckeredpast

attractedscrutinyandcriticisms.

Windhorstoftenbuystroubledcompanies

forcheapinthehopeofrestructuringand

sellingthemfora profit.Lastyearhebought

loss-makingItalianlingeriebrandLaPerla.

TennormadetheinvestmentinRalph&

Russothroughthebramaker’sparentcom-

pany,LaPerlaFashionInvestmentBV.And

whileLaPerlaChiefExecutiveOfficerPascal

Perrieris joiningRalph& Russo’sboard,the

twoinvestments“arecompletelydifferent,”

accordingtoFilipposKodellas,

managingdirectorofTennor’s

investmentteam.

Theco-founderssaythey

havenothadanydiscussions

withWindhorst—onlyLaPerla

executives.Ralphremainsopti-

mistic:“It’scrucialtoforge

partnershipsthatpropelthe

brandforward.”

EventhoughMarklewent

with Givenchy for her big

day,thebuzzaroundRalph

& Russohaspersistedthanks

inparttoanaggressivesocial

mediamarketingplan.And

thebrandstillseemstobein

thegoodgracesofthemon-

archy.LastOctober,Markle’s

cousin-in-law Princess

BeatricechanneledJacqueline

Onassisina royal-blueRalph

& Russodresswhileservingas

maidofhonoratthewedding

ofhersister,PrincessEugenie.

This time, even the Daily

Mirrorapproved:“Princess

Beatricestuns,”readthehead-

line.—WithLucaCasiraghi

andThomasBeardsworth

For investors looking for

a taste of the glamorous

life, Savile Row’s heritage

brands have been solid

bets on style

The Dedicated

Followers of

Fashion

GETTY IMAGES (3)

Bloomberg Pursuits August 26, 2019

A wedding dress with

asymmetrically draped

bodice and silk flowers

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