Versace’s fit with Capri Holdings, the much-hyped American luxury conglomerate, always felt to me like a square peg in a round hole — a flamboyant maker of Italian ready-to-wear and haute couture operated by a US company known for its ubiquitous sporty accessories. So rumours that Capri has put Versace up for sale after only six years feel inevitable. I hear it’s Prada Group’s acquisition, if Prada wants it, which could make sense. A return to the Milanese fold.
Capri is rumoured to also be shopping around Jimmy Choo, once a London-based luxury brand renowned for its handmade shoes. That would leave Capri as a holding company only for Michael Kors. Its hoped-for merger with rival Tapestry, rejected by US anti-trust regulators, left both companies weaker. Tapestry recently cut a deal to sell Stuart Weitzman for $105 million — a fraction of the $574 million it paid for the shoe brand in 2015. If Tapestry sells off Kate Spade, where revenues are falling, that leaves it with only the Coach brand.
