The main shareholders of Chanel and L’Oréal are buying a ticket into the luxury brand founded in 2006 by these American television stars.
The Wertheimer brothers, owners of Chanel, and the Bettencourt family, the largest shareholder in L’Oréal, have acquired a minority stake in the American fashion brand The Row, founded in 2006 by Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, TV stars in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gérard and Alain Wertheimer invested through their family office Mousse Partners and the Bettencourt-Meyers family through its family office Téthys Invest. Imaginary Ventures, a venture capital fund co-founded by fashion entrepreneur Natalie Massenet, the founder of luxury e-commerce site Net-a-porter, and Nick Brown, is also investing in the brand. A fourth investor completes the round: St. Dominique Capital, the private equity fund of Lauren Santo Domingo, the co-founder and brand director of online fashion retailer Moda Operandi. According to Bloomberg, which revealed the information, the transaction values The Row at $1 billion.
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Minimalism and trend
Known for her minimalist style in line with the current trend of “quiet luxury” (discreet luxury, popularized by the series Succession), The Row is due to open its first boutique in France soon, in the 1is district of Paris, according to the Fashion Network website.
The brand has only four stores in the world, including three in the United States (New York, Amagansett, in the Hamptons, and Los Angeles) and one in London. « Added to this is a merchant site and several dozen hand-picked resellers. »according to the site. The brand offers items such as cashmere and silk sweaters for 3,000 euros, wool coats for 4,500 euros and leather handbags that can cost up to 7,000 euros.
