L Catterton sees a $500m future for popular fashion brand APC – Sourcing Journal

While many investors have shyed away from the fashion, L Catterton is storming ahead.

The consumer goods investment giant, which is backed by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has signed a deal to take control of French fashion brand APC, confirming a Feb. 3 report in WWD that first revealed the two are in talks were.

This brings APC to L Catterton’s global portfolio, which also includes names across the consumer space, alongside brands such as Birkenstock, Etro, Ganni and John Hardy.

“Fashion has been part of our DNA for a very long time,” Eduardo Velasco, partner at L Catterton Europe, told WWD. “We know the segments in which we invest inside and out. Our main focus is to first understand the segments and understand the evolution of these trends in a very insightful way. When the new trends come, guess what, we already know them.”

Velasco said APC is a “legitimate lifestyle brand” with deep ties to the world of art and music and a long history of working on sustainability — which has only become more relevant to consumers today.

It is planned that APC will continue to develop these connections and build them under L. Catterton, who has a large network to further the endeavor.

“We don’t transform brands, we empower brands,” Velasco said.

APC’s business has sales of just over €100 million, and Velasco said it could be five times that size.

These are the types of gains that many investors would jump at, but few see in vogue right now.

But L Catterton has developed fashion into something of a sweet spot and Velasco has the proof.

He said Ganni, which L Catterton bought four years ago, has quintupled its earnings to nearly €200m.