Change Capital Partners has closed on its acquisition of a majority equity interest in Frette, a luxury linen and home furnishings business. Following the close of the acquisition, Change Capital Partners appointed Hervé Martin as the new Chief Executive Officer of Frette.
“I am delighted to welcome Hervé as Frette’s new chief executive and look forward to working with him. He has achieved tremendous success in developing a wide range of highly regarded luxury brands and his experience in opening up new international markets and distribution is a perfect fit for Frette,” said Roger Holmes, Partner at Change Capital Partners.
Frette, is a luxury linen and home furnishings business, The company’s products are sold to hotels, restaurants, private homes, airlines, ocean liners and trains. Frette operates 15 company-owned boutiques in Paris, Milan, Rome, New York and Beverly Hills and is present in high-end department stores from Los Angeles to London and Moscow to Hong Kong. The company has supplied high quality linens to European royal families throughout Europe as well as the Vatican. Frette was founded in 1860 and is based near Milan in Monza, Italy (www.frette.com).
Hervé Martin has built an extensive career in leading a number of international luxury and fashion brands. He is the former Chief Executive of Baccarat, the luxury crystal manufacturer where he oversaw the firm’s global expansion into Asia and key emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia. Previously, in Florence, he was Managing Director, Products & Marketing at Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian luxury products firm with overall responsibility for its brand positioning, product development, marketing and sales support. Prior to that he was Chief Executive of French fashion house Kenzo (part of the LVMH group). Mr. Martin has also served as Managing Director Europe and Middle East at Louis Vuitton Malletier and was CEO of Cartier Jewelry International.
“It is a privilege to be joining Frette at this time and looking forward to the challenge of growing the business. I have long been an admirer of Frette, which has an unrivalled position in its market, and believe it has an exciting future ahead of it,” said Mr. Martin.
Change Capital invests in consumer-oriented businesses across the European lower mid-market. The firm brings both capital and operational experience to enable brands and retail concepts that have established a distinctive customer proposition to secure the next stage in their development. Change Capital is currently investing its second fund and has so far deployed €440 million through 13 acquisitions across Europe. Change Capital is based in London, UK (www.changecapitalpartners.com).
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-23-14