Moncler, the purveyor of €1,000 down jackets, to list after sales climbed from less than €50m in 2003 to €489m in 2012; “China is very dangerous. I don’t trust that it will be like this for the next 20 years . . . there will be a crash.”

September 23, 2013 11:46 am

Moncler in second attempt to wrap up IPO

By Rachel Sanderson in Milan

My dream is that you collect three, four, five of my jackets in your wardrobe and you choose one for different days, but they last for life – Remo Ruffini, chairman and creative director, Moncler

Moncler, the purveyor of €1,000 down jackets, has a stock market listing in its sights. Remo Ruffini, chairman and creative director of Moncler, said in an interview with the Financial Times that he and the brand’s private equity backers were looking at a winter listing of the Franco-Italian brand in Milan. A successful listing would be second time lucky for Moncler. Private equity group Carlyle pulled a stock market listing in Milan in June 2011. Jittery about volatile markets, Carlyle instead sold 45 per cent of Moncler to French private equity group Eurazeo for €418m.While Moncler’s private equity owners wobbled, the family behind Florentine shoemaker to the starsSalvatore Ferragamo at the same time took the plunge to list in Milan. Ferragamo’s shares have increased 140 per cent since its flotation.

“I’m very keen to go on the stock exchange. Since June 2011 we’ve been ready and we are still ready,” said Mr Ruffini – with a certain chagrin – at his offices in Milan.

Moncler was founded in 1952 in Grenoble, France. Until Mr Ruffini bought it in 2003, it was best known for kitting out the French Olympic ski team and as a cult jacket worn by Italian teenagers.

But Mr Ruffini, a retail entrepreneur who studied in the US, has staged a turnround of the brand, expanding it beyond skiwear for professionals and extreme sport enthusiasts to a chic go-to outerwear brand for city dwellers.

In 2003, turnover was less than €50m. In 2012, revenues for the Moncler group rose 35 per cent year on year to €489m. Like-for-like sales were up 13 per cent. Based on 2012 ebitda of €161m, analysts estimate it could be worth upwards of €2bn if listed.

In addition to the main brand, there is the Gamme Rouge luxury line which shows in Paris during the runway season. A raccoon and beaver printed fur and down cape from Gamme Rouge’s latest winter collection sells for €4,310. Then there is the children’s range, Moncler Enfant. Mr Ruffini, who is from the northern lakeside town of Como, also has super lightweight jackets that can be used in spring and summertime.

“My dream is that you collect three, four, five of my jackets in your wardrobe and you choose one for different days, but they last for life,” says Mr Ruffini who owns a third of the company. The other minority shareholders are Carlyle, with 18 per cent, and Mittel, which has 5 per cent.

Today, Moncler’s biggest market is Asia, making up more than third of sales. The rest of Europe accounts for another third, Italy makes up 24 per cent and the US 10 per cent.

Mr Ruffini, who says he and his partners are considering a small capital increase, adds that the purpose of the stock market listing would be partly to give the business extra funds to push into the US and Brazil.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Mr Ruffini admits to being nervous about the Chinese boom in luxury goods.

“China now for us is a good market. But I really want to divide the risk in the world. China is very easy, they buy everything,” he says. “It is very dangerous. I don’t trust that it will be like this for the next 20 years . . . there will be a crash.”

He is also keen to tap the opportunity from global travellers with its super-lightweight down jackets that have been designed to be easily stored in carry-on luggage.

“What is the most emerging market? For me it is the tourists. They are the ones that really use my product,” he says.

Counterintuitively for a brand born in the mountains, he plans to open stores in Hawaii and in Las Vegas – two big tourist destinations – to add to the company’s 100 directly owned stores worldwide.

Moncler’s growth trajectory has prompted some analysts to speculate whether it could follow the example of Burberry. The UK luxury powerhouse is built around the trenchcoat. Could Moncler build a luxury goods empire around the down jacket?

For this winter, it is expanding into eyewear – Moncler Lunettes – knitwear and shoes. It already sells luggage in a joint venture with Rimowa.

Mr Ruffini says he will not immediately undertake brand extension – as Louis Vuitton and Burberry have – because he does not consider Moncler mature enough. But he does not rule out such a move over the next decade, especially if its stock market listing gets away successfully this time.

“You see what happened to Ferragamo? It’s a super, shiny luxury brand now,” he says. “The IPO helped them a lot. Listing is part of the maturity of a company. That’s why the stock market is good for Moncler.”