Gucci deal

Pinault led PPR through a long battle over control of Gucci, the Italian fashion company, which began with an attempted takeover of Gucci by LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company. In March of 1999, Gucci asked PPR to acquire an ownership interest in Gucci to help fend off LVMH. The result was a struggle between the two richest men in France, both self-made billionaires -- Pinault and Bernard Arnault, the Chairman of LVMH.

The dispute end in September 2001, when LVMH agreed to sell its shares in Gucci to PPR for $94 a share. As part of the agreement, PPR promised to make a tender offer for the balance of the publicly traded shares at a later date. It completed that buy-in in July 2004 and took full control of Gucci.

PPR is a French multinational holding company specializing in retail shops and luxury brands. The company is headquartered in Paris and is run by its founder, billionaire businessman Francois Pinault. It is quoted on Euronext Paris and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index. It was originally called Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, but changed its name on 18 May 2005 to simply PPR.

Subsidiaries

As of 2005 PPR's main subsidiaries include:

Gucci which also owns the luxury brands Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Bdat & Co, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga)

Magasins du Printemps - Le Printemps department stores

Redcats - mail order retailer which operates La Redoute, Ellos, Empire, Brylane, Cyrillus, Vertbaudet, Somewhere, Daxon, Edme, Celaia, La Maison de Val rie)

FNAC - book and CD retailer in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal

Conforama - household furnishing retailer

CFAO - distributor of cars and pharmaceuticals in Africa and the DOM-TOM

Competitors

PPR's chief competitors in luxury goods conglomerates are LVMH, Prada and Richemont.

External links

• Kering

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Martin Ludvik

American Fashion Designers

Designer Definition (from U.S Department of Labor)

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