Brunello Cucinelli and Chanel invest in the Cariaggi company

The partial acquisition by French fashion house Chanel and Italian brand Brunello Cucinelli of the company Cariaggi Lanificio has just been announced. This Tuesday, Piergiorgio Cariaggi, president and CEO of the fine knitwear manufacturer, signed an agreement with Bruno Pavlosky, Chanel's president of fashion since 2002, and Brunello Cucinelli, creative director and president of the eponymous brand, which will transfer to both Cucinelli and Chanel 24.5% of the company's share, while the Cariaggi family will retain control of the company and the remaining percentage share. This is the first time that Chanel has collaborated with another brand to acquire a company, even though it owns shares in as many as forty different suppliers.

According to WWD, the partnership was welcomed by all parties with great enthusiasm. Celebrated in Florence, this new development follows decisions made last year by Cucinelli, who had declared his intention to invest in 43% of cashmere supplier Cariaggi. The interest from Chanel stems from a long-standing partnership with the knitwear manufacturer in the textile factory in Cagli, in the heart of the Marche region. «Three partners would be better, working more efficiently and quickly, making the pitch more attractive, allowing Cariaggi to have the best means to further develop its technology and its vision of quality,» Pavlovsky shared at the event, emphasising that the deal was signed to ensure the welfare of the Cariaggi factories, and not to gain more control over them.

Cariaggi revealed investment targets for the company, a plan to allocate EUR 43 million until 2030, with the aim of evolving current production technologies and sustainable initiatives. So far, Chanel and Cucinelli account for 10 per cent of Cariaggi's sales, which reported a turnover of 143 million in 2022 and aims to reach 150 by the end of 2023.