Sapinda takes over La Perla

After negotiations with Chinese conglomerate Fosun International faltered, Italian luxury lingerie label La Perla has a new owner, Amsterdam-based investment company Sapinda Holding.

Two months ago, La Perla announced it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Fosun, which this month took control of Parisian fashion label Lanvin.

La Perla has been owned since 2013 by Italian businessman Silvio Scaglia via Pacific Global Management holding company. He restructured the brand’s organisation before seeking a buyer.

Founded in the1950s, La Perla diversified under Scaglia to focus on women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and become a fully fledged lifestyle label. It has been under the creative leadership of Julia Haart for nearly two years, and has 150 monobrand stores worldwide, mainly through retail expansion in Asia in the past few years. “We are delighted Sapinda has bought La Perla,” says Scaglia. “I have known Sapinda and its CEO Lars Windhorst for many years, and have worked with him several times. I know Sapinda has the resources necessary to bring La Perla to the next level and continue my vision of creating a worldwide luxury brand while keeping its production in Europe.”

Windhorst says Sapinda is ready to invest more into the brand. “We have been trying to invest in the luxury industry for some time, and after assessing opportunities over the past few months we are happy to have been able to strike a deal with La Perla.”

Sapinda Holding is a Dutch investment company with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin and London.

Meanwhile, La Perla is facing eviction from its Causeway Bay flagship in Hong Kong following a claim of HK$9.2 million in outstanding rent.