The Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani could soon be sold or become a publicly listed company, according to the late founder’s will.
The fashion designer, who died last week at the age of 91, said in the document that he wants his heirs to sell a 15% stake in the business within 18 months.
And three to five years after that he has instructed that an additional 30% to 54.9% stake be sold to the same buyer, according to a copy of the will reported on by Reuters, which also says an initial public offering could be pursued as an alternative.
The will says priority should be given to the luxury business LVMH, which is controlled by France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault; the beauty firm L’Oréal; or the eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, a commercial partner of Armani.
Armani stated his heirs should also consider other fashion and luxury companies in which Giorgio Armani has commercial ties.
The late designer was the sole shareholder in the company, under the control of his foundation.
On Friday, the company’s executive committee said that the Fondazione Giorgio Armani, which he set up in 2016 to guide future management and protect his values and principles, would always hold a stake of at least 30% in the business.
“Regardless of the corporate structure adopted, the foundation … shall never hold less than 30% of the capital, thereby acting as a permanent guarantor of compliance with the founding principles,” the executive committee said.
It added that the foundation would first focus on finding a new chief executive for the group. The executive committee also said it would give its full support to Armani’s will.
It added that all short- and medium-term decisions would remain with the founder’s family and his partner, Leo Dell’Orco, the head of the men’s style office, with support from the foundation.
Armani set up Giorgio Armani SpA with his late partner, Sergio Galeotti, in the 1970s. He maintained tight managerial and creative control throughout his career and reportedly refused numerous offers to become part of one of the big four luxury fashion conglomerates.
He described the independence of his brand as “an essential value”.
Armani made €2.3bn (£2bn) in revenues last year, and over the decades the group has expanded to include a collection of hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, cosmetics, chocolates and even floristry.
In an interview with the Financial Times, published days before his death, Armani explained how he planned to pass on his vast estate.
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“My plans for succession consist of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that I have always handled to those closest to me … such as Dell’Orco, the members of my family and the entire working team.”
He added that he “would like the succession to be organic and not a moment of rupture”.
Armani has no children and the heirs to the fashion house are considered to be his sister, Rosanna, and nieces and nephew, Silvana, Roberta and Andrea, as well as his partner and right-hand man, Dell’Orco.
His family members all sit on the board, with the nieces and nephew also holding senior positions in the luxury fashion house.
Born in Piacenza, in northern Italy, in 1934, Armani originally pursued a career in medicine. He left the University of Milan before completing his degree to join the army. Shortly after, he began looking for a different type of career.
After working as a window dresser and later a sales associate at La Rinascente, a notable department store in Milan, he took on a menswear design role at Nino Cerruti.
Armani was 41 when he launched his own label. It was Galeotti, an architect by training, who convinced him to sell his Volkswagen Beetle to fund his own company. Galeotti ran the books while Armani focused on the creative side. When Galeotti died in 1985, Armani continued alone.