The Italian luxury names owned from Paris
Gucci, Fendi and Bulgari are owned by French groups. As Italy play France at football tonight, here is who owns Italy's luxury names.
Two Paris-based groups control at least twelve of them.
LVMH, controlled by Bernard Arnault's family: Fendi (control since 2001), Acqua di Parma (2001), Pucci (fully owned since 2021), Bulgari (2011, about €4.3 billion, paid mostly in LVMH shares), Loro Piana (80% in 2013, 94% since January 2026) and Cova, the Milan pastry shop founded in 1817 (80% in 2013).
Kering, controlled by the Pinault family: Gucci (first stake in 1999, full control in 2004), Bottega Veneta (2001), Brioni (2011), Pomellato and DoDo (2013) and the porcelain maker Ginori 1735 (2013).
Two names often added to the list are not French-owned. Valentino belongs 70% to Mayhoola, a Qatari fund. Kering holds 30%, and the two have options to move the rest to Kering in 2028 and 2029. Moncler is still controlled by its chairman, Remo Ruffini. LVMH owns part of his holding company, which works out at about 4% of Moncler.
Some brands go the other way. Prada, which is Italian, bought Versace from the US group Capri Holdings at an enterprise value of €1.25 billion. The deal closed on 2 December 2025.
Armani is still Italian. Giorgio Armani died on 4 September 2025. His will asks his heirs to sell 15% of the company within 18 months, preferably to LVMH, L'Oréal or EssilorLuxottica (a French-Italian group), or to another company of comparable standing. A larger stake, or a stock market listing, would follow. No deal had been announced by the end of September 2026.
Send this to someone who thinks Gucci still belongs to Italy.
The voice in this video is AI-generated. Script and fact-checking by The Italy Desk.
LVMH, Kering, Prada Group, Reuters, Financial Times, Il Sole 24 Ore, WWD.
