Prada and Jil Sander go separate ways

Prada Holding is parting with the German fashion house Jil Sander after an on-again-off-again relationship. 

Change Capital Partners, a private-equity company headed by the former Marks & Spencer Group chairman, Luc Vandevelde, said Thursday that it was buying the clothier. No price was given for Jil Sander, which had first-half sales of 69.7 million, or $83 million 

Analysts including Armando Branchini at the luxury-goods consulting firm Intercorporate said Jil Sander may have been valued at about 150 million in a cash-and-debt transaction. 

The sale ends several years of accumulated losses and personality clashes between Prada's chief executive, Patrizio Bertelli, and Sander, who left her own company twice. 

Prada is focusing on its own brands after being weighed down by losses at Jil Sander and Helmut Lang, which were bought in a 1999 acquisition spree. 

"This is good news for Prada," said Carlo Pambianco, founder of the Milan fashion consulting company Pambianco Strategie di Impresa. "This could be the start of a new growth phase for the company." 

A spokesman for Change Capital said the company did not plan to bring back Sander, who left her business for the second time in November 2004. The designer, who started the clothier in 1975, could not be reached for comment. 

The chief executive at Jil Sander, Gian Giacomo Ferraris, has spent two years cutting costs and making the company more efficient. 

Change Capital, started by Vandevelde in 2003, manages 300 million. The firm is backed by the Halley family, the main investor in Carrefour, the biggest retailer in Europe. 

"Jil Sander was a fantastic opportunity," Change Capital's managing director, Stephan Lobmeyr, said. "It has a strong management team. It is coming out of a turnaround and has the potential to create a lot of value." 

The clothier is focusing on higher-priced apparel as it seeks to become profitable. Jil Sander is expanding its accessories ranges and opening stores with franchise partners in Hong Kong and Japan. It already runs 16 stores. 

The creative director, Raf Simons, appointed in July, won positive reviews for his first women's collection, presented in Milan on Monday. 

"Jil Sander is one of the few brands that understands and delivers the kind of clothing professional women want to wear," said Ron Frasch, vice chairman and chief merchant at Saks Fifth Avenue, the luxury retailer. 

Sander clashed with Bertelli shortly after selling her company to Prada and left for the first time in January 2000. She was rehired in May 2003 under a six-year consulting contract. 

When Prada acquired control of Jil Sander, the company was profitable. Sales in the 143 billion luxury-goods market then stagnated between 2001 and 2003.