L Catterton has announced a “definitive agreement” to make a strategic investment in Ganni, one of Scandinavia’s buzziest contemporary fashion brands, according to a joint statement on Thursday. Founded in Copenhagen in 2000, the largely family-owned Ganni is run by creative director Ditte Reffstrup and CEO Nicolaj Reffstrup and boasts a network of more than 400 of the world’s finest international retailers, as well as in 18 own concept stores in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Ganni, which has certainly infiltrated your Instagram via fashion month street style posts, has swiftly been rising in profile, boasting significant digital exposure and “a unique style endorsed by key fashion opinion leaders.” L Catterton, on the other hand, is a private equity entity that was created in January 2016 when Catterton, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm; LVMH, the Paris-based conglomerate that plays parent to brands ranging from Louis Vuitton and Givenchy to Starboard Cruise Services and Princess Yachts; and Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of Bernard Arnault (chairman of LVMH), joined forces.
Nicolaj Reffstrup, Ganni’s CEO, said on Thursday that “partnering with L Catterton is a hugely exciting opportunity for us to further build on the solid foundations that were laid since 2009. This comes exactly at the right time for Ganni and will drive us forward in the next few years as we’ll get access to the knowledge and network of both L Catterton and LVMH. Ganni attracted a lot of interest from various investment firms, but we chose L Catterton as we felt we share the same vision for the brand.”
The investment comes L Catterton acquired a stake in Italian bicycle maker Cicli Pinarello SpA in December 2016, and more recently, an investment by its Asian arm in South Korean sunglasses brand, Gentle Monster, in a move to bank on the Korean pop culture boom to fuel sales of the country’s luxury brands.