LuisaViaRoma Acquires Holding IT, Establishes New Group – WWD

MILAN — LuisaViaRoma said Thursday it has acquired Holding IT, the firm helmed by Tommaso Maria Andorlini, who was appointed chief executive officer of the Florentine luxury retailer in July.

Holding IT is the parent company of FFW Srl, which has created and managed e-commerce sites for fashion brands since 2011, and Playground Srl, which operates luxury sportswear stores under the banner SOTF.

As a result of the deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, the new LuisaViaRoma Group has been established with the goal to consolidate and further favor synergies between all parties and offer an improved and heightened shopping experience to meet customers’ new demands.

Andorlini said the acquisition “represents a strategic opportunity to combine our strengths and create a new point of reference in the digital and physical retail sector.” 

“I am extremely proud of what we managed to create with LuisaViaRoma, and even more excited about this new collaboration that will carry forward our plans for growth,” said LuisaViaRoma’s president Andrea Panconesi, whose grandmother Luisa Jaquin planted the seeds of the family company’s success by opening a small concept store on Florence’s Via Roma in 1929.

Gross merchandise volume of the LuisaViaRoma Group totaled almost 400 million euros in 2023, with the company expecting to reach the 450 million euro threshold in 2024.

As reported, in 2022 LuisaViaRoma’s sales totaled around 250 million euros, of which more than 90 percent were generated online. Last year Panconesi projected revenues to exceed 300 million euros in 2023. 

The retailer’s acceleration has been boosted by a strong performance in its domestic market — where sales increased 40 percent in the past two years — and by its ever-increasing work in brand scouting and overall enhancement of its offering, now encompassing more than 500 luxury brands with highly curated selections.

The SOTF business will add to this performance in the brick-and-mortar and online channels. The first result of the deal will be the opening of a new SOTF store in Via De’ Tosinghi in Florence during Pitti Uomo next week. Covering 3,230 square feet over two floors, the unit is dominated by gray tones and steel elements and will showcase collections by both up-and-coming and established brands, as well as artistic installations. A cocktail event will be staged on Jan. 10 to celebrate the opening.

An acronym of “Store of the Future,” the SOTF banner was launched in September 2016, when the first sneaker shop opened in the city’s Via de Tornabuoni. Two years later a store in the Tuscan city of Prato was added, while in 2020 a SOTF outpost was opened in the luxury resort destination Forte dei Marmi. Now the retailer offers apparel and accessories collections from sportswear giants such as Nike, Adidas Originals and New Balance — including items in limited edition — as well as luxury players such as Jil Sander, Golden Goose, Acne, Coperni and Mihara Yasuhiro, among others. 

Andorlini’s know-how in the sportswear area and sneakers category, in addition to his two decades of experience in the fashion industry, were key assets contributing to his appointment as LuisaViaRoma CEO last year. In the role he succeeded Alessandra Rossi, who joined the company in October 2021 following the closing of the deal with Milan-based private equity firm Style Capital. As reported, the fund, helmed by CEO Roberta Benaglia, invested 130 million euros to acquire a 40 percent stake in LuisaViaRoma.

Panconesi, who retains a 60 percent stake in the company, masterminded the retailer’s digital foray in the early 2000s with the pioneering launch of its e-commerce platform. Ever since, this has been enhanced with new sections, including the introduction of LVRSustainable in 2019. This is dedicated to environmentally sustainable brands and tie-ups with nonprofit organizations and has proven to be a strategic asset in attracting and engaging with new consumers.

In 2022, LuisaViaRoma also made its foray into the resale sector by partnering with Vestiaire Collective on a project enabling its clients to sell their previously worn fashions in exchange for credits to be spent on new goods on the e-commerce site.

Still, Panconesi has always highlighted the importance of physical retail and IRL events for the company’s success. To this end, in addition to its location in Florence, the retailer is to open its first international outpost in New York in spring 2024. As reported, LuisaViaRoma inked a long-term lease for a 7,855-square-foot retail space at 1 Bond St. in Manhattan’s NoHo.

The retailer is additionally known for its lavish events. Most recently it staged the “Runway Icons” fashion extravaganza in partnership with British Vogue in front of more than 1,500 guests during Pitti Uomo last June. The open-air multibrand fashion show featured a performance by Andrea Bocelli; a long VIP guest list led by Leonardo DiCaprio, and designs from emerging and established labels worn by models encompassing Natalia Vodianova, Irina Shayk, Mariacarla Boscono and Pat Cleveland, to name a few.

The Hollywood-like production echoed the buzzy gala soirées LuisaViaRoma is known to host with UNICEF in Capri and St. Barths, which over the years have drawn celebrity guests such as Jamie Foxx, Jared Leto and Spike Lee, as well as live performances from the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Lenny Kravitz and Dua Lipa.