MILAN — Another Italian group is mulling an initial public offering.
Discussing the opening of the new Coin Excelsior concept store in Rome on Wednesday, chief executive officer Stefano Beraldo said parent company Gruppo Coin, controlled by private equity fund BC Partners, is “evaluating” the possibility of spinning off the group’s OVS and Upim chains for a public listing. BC Partners took control of the group, which also includes the upscale Excelsior banner, in 2011, delisting it in the second half of that year.
Gruppo Coin, which is the largest clothing retailer in Italy, last year reported sales of 1.66 billion euros, or $2.2 billion at average exchange, up 0.6 percent compared with 2012. Beraldo said OVS sales in the first months of the year were up 12 percent, Excelsior was up 10 percent and Upim 2 percent.
The executive said the group invested 8 million euros, or $11 million at current exchange, in the three-level, 46,440-square-foot Coin Excelsior unit in Rome designed by architect Vincenzo De Cotiis. The store is positioned at an “intermediate” level between Coin and Excelsior and carries brands from Dodo and Tiffany to Marc by Marc Jacobs, Red Valentino, Joseph, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Armani Collezioni, Paul Smith, Z Zegna, Barba, Lardini and Finamore, in addition to the owned food market Eat’s.
Beraldo described the Rome store as the brand’s “ambassador” unit, adding that the plan is to duplicate the concept to between five and six locations in other “important” cities in Italy, from Venice to Florence and Naples.