The heir to Prada’s billionaire family signals openness to takeovers as luxury dynasties look to the future

Family-owned luxury fashion empires aren’t exactly known for their openness when it comes to succession planning. The world’s largest, LVMH, is still controlled by chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault. Four of his five children serve on the LVMH board and are all in the running to take over once he eventually steps down.

Last month, Giorgio Armani, the famed Italian designer behind his eponymous brand, raised eyebrows when he said he had not ruled out the idea of ​​eventually selling the company.

Now the heir to another luxury company has weighed in on the subject, saying he would consider making acquisitions for his 110-year-old brand.

“We have always been open to considering opportunities,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s head of social responsibility and heir to the family that controls the billionaires, told Bloomberg.

Bertelli responded to questions about Armani’s future, to which he declined to comment. However, it is telling that he is now discussing the possibility of expanding Prada’s stable of brands, which also includes Miu Miu and Church, while just three years ago he was fending off suggestions that Prada itself could one day be sold off, and said he wanted the group to remain under the umbrella. family control.

Prada and Armani are among the Italian fashion houses that have remained independent in an era of widespread mergers and acquisitions. Alongside Salvatore Ferragamo, Ermenegildo Zegna and Canali, they are still controlled by the families who founded them.

Many others have been snapped up by conglomerates such as France’s LVMH and Kering – both family-controlled – including Berluti and Gucci respectively.

Prada itself has been active in making deals, albeit on a smaller scale, including acquiring a minority stake in knitwear manufacturer Fedeli last year.

The Hong Kong-listed company, 80% of which is owned by the Bertelli family through a holding company, is certainly in a strong position to consider mergers and acquisitions. Although customers’ tighter wallets have affected the luxury industry, Prada has bucked the trend.

The company reported strong results in 2023 and has invested heavily in its retail presence to appeal to more customers. It may not be nearly as big as market leader LVMH – Prada’s sales last year were €4.7 billion, compared to the French conglomerate’s €86.2 billion – but it is still one of the most recognizable brands in the world. luxury and luxury. has a legacy that goes back more than 100 years.

Stay independent, no matter what

Family business owners often want to maintain control, creatively and financially, to protect their family legacy – and who better to protect that legacy than, well, family?

Armani, still CEO of his company at the age of 90, said that “independence from large groups could still be a driving value for the Armani Group” in an interview with Bloomberg last month, when he first raised the possibility of a takeover.

“I currently do not foresee a takeover by a large luxury conglomerate,” Armani said. “A stock exchange listing is something we have not yet discussed, but it is an option that can be considered, hopefully in the distant future.”

The succession plan for Armani’s CEO has also not been made public, although he does have many high-profile lieutenants in the company’s management, from a longtime employee to his nieces and nephew.

As for Prada, it will be interesting to see how the Bertelli family shapes its future as the forces influencing luxury continue to change.

Prada representatives did not return Fortune‘s request for comment.

This story originally appeared on Fortune.com