wristwatches news
Bulgari CEO repeats company not for sale
13 september 2007
Article published by: Canada.com - Tuesday, September 11, 2007
PARIS (Reuters) - Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari is not for sale, the group's chief executive reiterated in a French newspaper interview published on Tuesday.
"As far as we are concerned, the company is not for sale. It never has been and we don't foresee selling it in the near future," Francesco Trapani told La Tribune newspaper.
Bulgari, more than 50 percent controlled by the Bulgari family, is an ongoing target of takeover speculation although executives have repeatedly stated it is not for sale.
Its shares traded down 1.2 percent after Trapani's comments dampenened talk it could be a target for French conglomerates LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and PPR .The stock underperformed a 1.0 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx products and home index that includes luxury goods <.SXQP>.
Trapani said Bulgari did not exclude becoming a multi-brand group like larger rivals LVMH or Gucci Group, part of PPR , but would only branch out if it was certain it could develop another brand without diluting Bulgari.
Like Armani Group, Bulgari has embraced the globalization of the luxury goods industry faster than many other Italian brands.
Although smaller than the world's leading jewelers Cartier and Tiffany , it has expanded beyond fine jewelery into accessories, watches, perfume, skin care and hotels in the past five years.
Bulgari plans to expand its anti-ageing skincare range and add more hotels beyond locations in Milan and Bali, Trapani said. Talks were under way to open Bulgari-branded hotels in London and Shanghai and a resort in Italy.
Chief Executive of Swiss watchmaker Bulgari Francesco Trapani talks to Reuters during an interview at the watch fair Baselworld in Basel, Switzerland, March 29, 2005. Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari <BULG.MI> is not for sale, the group's chief executive reiterated in a French newspaper interview published on Tuesday. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
