Lvmh invests in Made in Italy

Lvmh is not stopping and is still investing in sourcing in Tuscany. According to MFF, after the advance news of a new Louis Vuitton factory south of Florence —expected to employ 400 workers and be ready in 2024 within the municipality of Pontassieve, another historic leather goods district along with Scandicci, and after cutting the ribbon at the new Fendi factory for handbags and accessories in the Florentine municipality of Bagno a Ripoli last week, the group, through its Métiers dArt division, is also reportedly in the final stages of taking over the majority stake in the Nuti Ivo tannery in Santa Croce sull'Arno (Pisa), a business founded in 1955 and specializing in calfskins for leather goods and footwear.

The one on the Nuti Ivo tannery, whose founder passed away in 2013 and which is the leader of a group of five tanning companies, would be the French giant's second investment in the tanning sector in Tuscany after the first one three years ago that involved a minority stake in the capital of Masoni tannery, also in the Pisa district. Matteo De Rosa, ceo Lvmh Métiers d'Art, on the sidelines of his speech yesterday at the States General of Leather Goods in Florence, commented to MFF on the indiscretion: «I cannot say anything about it, but only add that there will be news soon. We are interested in safeguarding the excellence of the districts, not only in Tuscany, but also in Southern Italy such as Apulia and Sicily, so in the whole country, since luxury is Italy. Furthermore, we also have a new business model, not only entering the minority stake in companies’ capitals, but also the majority stake, especially for those companies that do not have a generational shift and would thus risk compromising their know-how. This would make it available to the entire market, not only to Lvmh».

De Rosa then concluded: «In addition, we are working towards a traceable and transparent supply chain by 2026 as stated in the Life 360 goals, the environmental sustainability program of the group, and thus we are interested in partnerships with not only leather manufacturers, but also textile». These are intense months for the giant of Bernard Arnault, which confirms its ever-stronger relationship with Tuscany and Italy, and not only for its flagship brand. In just a few weeks, in fact, after the news of the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a factory dedicated to Fendi’s footwear in Fermo, on October 12 they unveiled a 50 million euro investment of the Florence-based leather factory of the roman maison, the highest amount ever invested by Lvmh in Italy for a manufacturer, which will bring to full employment 700 workers in four years, up from the current 400. Also on that occasion, MFF had anticipated the news of a new factory, also a leather manufacturer, for Givenchy, which will open in the upcoming months inside the building Fendi is occupying before moving to the new factory. (All rights reserved)