OVS Acquires Italian Knitwear Brand Les Copains
MILAN — OVS SpA has acquired Italian knitwear brand Les Copains, the retail chain said Wednesday.
Financial details of the operation have not been disclosed but, according to industry sources, OVS won the auction for the control of the Bologna-based brand with an offer of 1.4 million euros. OVS acquired only the brand and not complementary assets of the company.
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Les Copains was formerly owned by Super Srl, which went bankrupt earlier this year. Controlled by the Bologna-based Zambelli textiles family, Super Srl acquired the brand’s parent company BVM SpA in 2019 when this went into liquidation after years of navigating crises.
OVS’ acquisition is part of a bigger strategy of strengthening its product development and distribution by diversifying its offering, with the ultimate goal of expanding its consumer reach.
The retailer has been attracting new customers by becoming more of a platform, which in addition to offering a range of products designed and created in-house has been increasingly opening up to collaborations with other brands. For instance, OVS worked for years with the late Elio Fiorucci on the Baby Angel brand and on the store’s label Grand & Hills, with Davide De Giglio, who would go on to create New Guards Group.
In 2018, OVS introduced the Piombo brand for men, further strengthening the partnership with the launch of the women’s counterpart last year. Incidentally, designer Massimo Piombo is also creative director of OVS. Last year, the retailer forged ties with Gap and acquired Stefanel.
Les Copains will further expand this portfolio. The brand’s parent BVM was founded by the late entrepreneur Mario Bandiera, who started his activity in the ’50s producing knitwear for the German market. Bandiera launched Les Copains in 1958 with the goal of developing a collection around cashmere knitwear, and drew his inspiration for the brand’s name from a French radio program popular at the time called “Salut les Copains.”
Les Copains was particularly popular between the ‘70s and ‘90s and is still known for its knits and striped sweaters. The founder’s wife Stefania Bandiera was for some years in charge of creative design of the brand but, previously, Les Copains worked with designers such as Antonio Marras, Antonio Berardi, Albino d’Amato, Alessandro Dell’Acqua and Graeme Black.BVM has also produced Giambattista Valli’s namesake line for years.
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It is intended that an OVS design team will take the creative helm of Les Copains, debuting the new style course of the brand with the spring 2023 collection.
The distribution strategy is still being defined, as it is yet to be determined under which banner the Les Copains collections will be sold. OVS operates doors under its namesake banner, OVS Kids and BluKids as well as the Upim chain and Stefanel stores, controlling a total of 2,052 units globally, 230 of which opened last year.
Considering the overall democratic positioning of the group, it is likely that Les Copains’ price points will be tweaked and lowered. The strategy might replicate the relaunch of Stefanel, which was another storied yet financially troubled label that OVS acquired it last year. The retailer relaunched Stefanel by modernizing and dusting off the product and offering a 30 percent lower price point compared to the past.
Conversely to Les Copains, at the time OVS acquired not only the Stefanel brand but also some related assets — including 23 stores — and the collection archive.
As reported, last year OVS also inked a franchise deal with Gap for the Italian market. As a result, OVS carries Gap products for women, men, children and babies on its website and a selection of GapKids products are also available in its physical doors. The two parties then signed an additional deal saying that OVS would take over Gap’s 11 stand-alone stores in Italy, too. Gap’s flagship store in central Milan is expected to shut down in the fall, once the location’s lease expires.
Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 2015, OVS SpA reported net sales of 1.36 billion euros in 2021, up 33.4 percent compared to the previous year. In the first quarter this year, ending April 30, OVS sales totaled almost 300 million euros, up 30.6 percent versus the same period in 2021.
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