Prada Group says it has purchased fashion rival Versace in a deal worth
nearly $1.4 billion
[December 02, 2025] By
COLLEEN BARRY
MILAN (AP) — The Prada Group announced Tuesday that it has officially
purchased Milan fashion rival Versace in a 1.25 billion euro (nearly
$1.4 billion) deal that puts the fashion house known for its sexy
silhouettes under the same roof as Prada’s “ugly chic” aesthetic and Miu
Miu’s youth-driven appeal.
The highly anticipated deal is expected to relaunch Versace’s fortunes,
after middling post-pandemic performance as part of the U.S. luxury
group Capri Holdings.
Prada said in a one-line statement that the acquisition had been
completed after receiving all regulatory clearances.
Versace's future
Prada heir Lorenzo Bertelli will steer Versace’s next phase as executive
chairman, in addition to his roles as group marketing director and
sustainability chief.
The son of co-creative director Miuccia Prada and longtime Prada Group
chairman Patrizio Bertelli has said he doesn’t expect to make any swift
executive changes at Versace. But Bertelli has said that the company,
which places among the top 10 most recognized brands in the world, has
long been underperforming in the market.
Prada has underlined that the 47-year-old Versace brand offered
“significant untapped growth potential.’’
Versace has been in the midst of a creative relaunch under a new
designer, Dario Vitale, who previewed his first collection during Milan
Fashion Week in September. He had previously been head of design at Miu
Miu, but his move to Versace was unrelated to the Prada deal, executives
have said.
Capri Holdings, which owns Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, paid $2 billion
for Versace in 2018, but had been struggling to position Versace’s bold
profile in the recent era of “quiet luxury.″
Versace represented 20% of Capri Holdings 2024 revenue of 5.2 billion
euros. An analyst presentation for the Prada deal said that Versace
would represent 13% of the Prada Group’s pro-forma revenues, with Miu
Miu coming in at 22% and Prada at 64%. The Prada Group, which also
includes Church’s footwear, reported a 17% boost in revenues to 5.4
billion euros last year.
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A leather good operator works at the Prada factory in Scandicci,
Italy, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Prada's in-house manufacturing
The Prada Group has already begun preparations to incorporate
crosstown rival Versace into its Italian manufacturing system, a
point of pride for the group.
“Making a bag for one brand or another, the know-how is the same,″
Bertelli told reporters last week at the group’s Scandicci leather
goods factory, which already makes bags for the Prada and Miu Miu
brands and will soon add Versace.
The Prada Group’s has invested 60 million euros in its supply chain
this year, including a new leather goods factory near Siena, a new
knitwear factory near Perugia as well as increasing production at
its factory Church’s footwear factory in Britain and expanding
another Tuscan factory. That’s on top of 200 million euros in
investments from 2019-24.
Prada’s efforts include an academy that has trained some 570 new
artisans over the last 25 years in an in-house training academy
operating in the Tuscany, Marche, Veneto and Umbria regions.
Last year, Prada hired 70% of the 120 artisans who trained in the
academy. The number of trainees rose by 28% to 152 this year.
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