I'm starting to ask— is it dumb not to own Prada?This analysis is provided by Eden Bradfeld at BlackBull Research.
Prada — here’s a luxury story that’s outperformed peers in recent times — sales up +17% in 2024 — Miu Miu drove sales a remarkable +25% (+93% in Q4 alone!). It’s been a long, funny life as a publicly listed company for Prada — they listed on the Hong Kong exchange in 2011 and the stock surged, and then sat flat for ages, going sideways. There was a lot of doubt if the Italian family-controlled fashion house could grow — it’s a lot smaller than LVMH, Kering etc, and there’s a lot of focus on only a small clutch of brands (plus, the company had a disastrous foray into buying Helmut Lang and Jil Sander). And yet — here we are — in a year of recession for most of luxury, Prada, like Hermes and Brunello, has shined. Not least thanks to growing Gen Z demand of Miu Miu — I keep saying this, but it’s not enough to only sell to your 1% old-timers — you need to sell to the market with growing wealth. Gen Z, baby.
27x earnings — down 6.00% today. I avoided this stock for a while — maybe to my detriment? But now I am starting to ask— is it dumb not to own Prada?
Consider also the rumored +US$1.5 billion bid for Versace, Prada’s fellow Italian competitor. Capri Holdings owns it now — they haven’t grown revenue. I had to pause with the idea of chic, intellectual Prada buying Versace — brash, bold, a little tacky. Yet if anyone can make it work, it’s Prada…
Kering — I know I have been harping on about this one for a while ‘cos the Gucci and Saint Laurent owner is trading well under five year lows, but this little tidbit from Lauren Sherman’s excellent newsletter, Line Sheet (at Puck) — some validation!
I was told by one trusted industry source to buy Kering stock because it’s going to be a sure-bet designer—such as Hedi Slimane—but others keep pointing to lesser-known, yet still formidable candidates. Dario Vitale keeps coming up, despite his conversations with Versace. One thing to remember is that no Gucci designer has ever been a name before they started at Gucci, so a known entity would be a departure from that. Anyway, as my partner Bill Cohan likes to say, this is not investment advice.
Not investment advice, but you know — buy ‘em down and dirty, and ride ‘em high…I always remember how Walter Schloss was prone to look at companies trading at five year lows. That’s Kering for you…
