Feb. 24, 2014 8:53 p.m. ET
LVMH MC.FR +0.95% LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton France: Paris €138.75 +1.30 +0.95% Feb. 24, 2014 5:36 pm Volume : 569,134 P/E Ratio 20.31 Market Cap €69.78 Billion Dividend Yield 2.74% Rev. per Employee N/A 02/24/14 LVMH to Develop Italian Fashio... 02/24/14 LVMH to Develop Italian Fashio... 02/03/14 LVMH to Expand Retail Network ... More quote details and news » Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said Monday it has agreed to develop Italian fashion house Marco de Vincenzo, the latest move by the luxury company to build up a portfolio of young designers as it grapples with a sharp slowdown in the industry.
LVMH will take a 45% stake in Marco De Vincenzo's brand, leaving the designer with the remaining 55%, according to a person familiar with the matter. LVMH didn't disclose financial details on the deal.
The purchase is further evidence of Delphine Arnault, the daughter of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, leading a race to secure a new generation of fashion talent, recently bringing British shoe maker Nicholas Kirkwood and designer J.W. Anderson into the group by taking stakes in their brands.
"We are convinced that together we will develop successfully his brand," said Ms. Arnault in a statement. "This new partnership is in the DNA of LVMH, which has always supported young designers."
LVMH's multibrand strategy has long been based on the principle of ensuring constant growth through a wide portfolio of rising brands, which could offset any slack in its other ones. But booming demand for some of its labels such as Céline and Kenzo is no match for the slump at its juggernaut brand, Louis Vuitton, where sales have stagnated as consumers grew fatigued by its ubiquitous logo bags.
Against this backdrop, luxury giants, including LVMH and rival Kering SA, are on the hunt for the next big names in fashion.
Mr. de Vincenzo was a known entity to the group: he has been designing accessories at Fendi, an Italian brand controlled by LVMH since 2001, for more than a decade. He launched his own line in 2009 while continuing to design collections for Fendi and has shown his collections in Milan since then.
Mr. de Vincenzo, who in 2009 won Vogue Italia's "Who's on Next" competition aiming to support emerging designers, considered closing his brand two years later. But in early 2013 LVMH stepped in to help with everything from sourcing fabrics to organizing his fashion show.
His latest line, presented during Milan Fashion Week that ended Monday, staged colorful outfits, graphic prints and black leather. Some of his clothes were spotted on fashion show attendees straight after his presentation.
Italian small and medium-size fashion firms often look at selling stakes to investors in an attempt to fund growth, open more stores, have a stronger distribution and negotiating power or simply because no heirs are ready to take over the family company.
Krizia Spa said Monday that it had been acquired by China's Shenzhen Marisfrolg Fashion Co. Ltd., which will support its expansion in Asia by opening flagship stores in Beijing and Shanghai. The Italian ready-to-wear brand's founder, Mariuccia Mandelli, is almost 90 and has no heir, said a person familiar with the matter.
Other brands like Versace are looking into sell a minority stake to a foreign private-equity fund, while luxury wool maker Loro Piana was bought last year by LVMH for 2 billion euros.
Write to Manuela Mesco at manuela.mesco@wsj.com
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