Chanel and Brunello Cucinelli on Tuesday signed a joint agreement to take 24.5 percent stakes in Italian cashmere and wool manufacturer Cariaggi Lanificio. The Cariaggi family will remain in control of 51 percent of shares.
The move is the latest development in a deal launched in March 2022, when Cucinelli acquired a 43 percent stake in its longtime cashmere supplier, and represents a landmark tie-up between the two houses. Cucinelli will sell 18.5 percent of its stake to Chanel, which will also acquire 6 percent from the Cariaggi family.
In the past few years, Chanel has taken stakes a number of manufacturers, including Italian tannery Gaiera and knitwear specialist Paima and in 2020 and 2021, to develop its supply chain. The brand’s supply chain acquisitions now total over 40, from a dozen a decade ago.
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How Chanel Is Strengthening Its Supply Chain
Over the past two years, Chanel has acquired seven new manufacturers. At the house’s ‘Métiers d’Art’ showcase in Paris, president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky broke down his strategy for future-proofing the French brand’s supply chain.