Isabel Marant sold a 51 percent stake to a private equity firm in 2015. According to sources, Montefiore Investment has tasked American firm J.P. Morgan with selling its stake. It could not be immediately learned if Marant might also tender additional shares in the Paris-based fashion house she created. Its other original partners are Nathalie Chemouny and Sophie Duruflé.
The brand is said to be highly profitable, having generated 60 million euros in EBITDA in 2019 on net revenues of 300 million euros. According to sources, profitability accelerated in 2021. The company has almost doubled in size since 2015, with its store network ballooning from 10 to 70 during the period.
Europe’s luxury conglomerates LVMH and Kering — usually the first names on everyone’s lips when a brand comes on the market — may not be tempted by Marant, given its medium scale and positioning a notch below luxury.
Sources said Mayhoola for Investment, the Qatari fund behind Valentino, could take a look along with the likes of Capri Holdings or private equity giant KKR. It is understood, the Marant business is heavily weighted to the U.S., a burgeoning market for fashion and luxury goods.
Founded in 1994, the label is credited with inventing the bohemian Parisienne hipster-meets-tomboy look. Quilted jackets and skinny motorcycle pants are among its signatures in apparel, while cult accessories include the wedge sneaker, launched in 2012. The style spurred a sea of knock-offs and became one of the recent defining footwear trends.
The brand, which counts Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kendall and Kylie Jenner among its devotees, has been opening stores and expanding into new categories like eyewear and skiwear. In October, the company revealed plans to more than double its retail presence in China over the next four years.
Last June, it launched a secondhand site that will take donations of used clothing from the label in exchange for vouchers, offering a new model for an industry under pressure to get involved in the post-sale life cycle of their products. The Marant acquisition was the first investment in fashion for Montefiore, whose portfolio includes online travel agencies MisterFly and Cruiseline, fitness chain Les Cercles de la Forme and domain name provider Gandi.
Montefiore seems to be bringing the brand back out into the dealmaking scene at a good time. The stock market — which helps set the price for all companies – is still at a high and European brands are getting particular interest.
Earlier this week Isabel Marant has opened a new boutique at Bal Harbour Shops in Miami, Florida.

Isabel Marant FW 2021
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