After acquiring Belgian luxury handbag brand Delvaux and French shoemaker Robert Clergerie, Hong Kong-based Fung Brands now has its sights on French fashion house Sonia Rykiel.

Fung Brands is aiming to acquire an 80 per cent stake of the fashion brand, arguably the best known of its acquisitions to date.

A subsidiary of Fung family’s private investment arm Fung Capital, Fung Brands will involve the Rykiel family in the business by retaining with them the 20 per cent stake in company’s equity and appointing Nathalie, daughter of Sonia Rykiel, as vice chairman of the board.

Sonia Rykiel is a family-controlled fashion house founded in 1968 in Paris. It carries ready-to-wear lines including Sonia Rykiel, Rykiel Woman, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel and Rykiel Infant. The fashion house is renowned for bright coloured striped woolen dresses and sweaters emblazoned with written messages.

“We are confident in our capacity to develop it (Sonia Rykiel) and make it an international, global luxury brand,” said Jean-Marc Loubier, head of Fung Brands.

The addition of Sonia Rykiel to Fung Brands’ portfolio reflects the company’s strategy to acquire brands with established heritage and expansion potential, especially within Asian markets.

“China is one of the few countries where you can rejuvenate a brand. You need a brand with some history, but then you can enhance it and romance it,” said William Fung, co-owner of Fung Brands.

GB