An Italian newspaper reports that the Versace group is on the verge¹ of announcing its sale to an American company for 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion).

 

意大利一家报社报道，范思哲集团即将宣布20亿欧元（24亿美元）将自身出售给一家美国公司。

 

Corriere della Sera reported Monday, without citing sources, that the announcement could come as early as Tuesday. Bloomberg and Reuters news agencies later reported the buyer would be fashion group Michael Kors, which has been trying to burnish² its image and last year bought high-end shoemaker Jimmy Choo for $1.35 billion.

 

Versace declined to comment on the reports. A spokesperson at Michael Kors couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

 

The reports come as Michael Kors has made it clear that it wants to transform itself into a house of luxury brands, starting last year with its acquisition of Jimmy Choo, made famous for its "Sex and the City" stilettos. The strategy follows moves by other fashion companies. Tapestry³, formerly⁴ Coach, owns Stuart Weitzman and last year it acquired Kate Spade.

 

While Kors would be adding a major brand with international global status to its business, the Versace business still needs work, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail⁵. And it comes as the Michael Kors business still hasn't been turned around, despite some progress made. The Kors brand struggled with a cheap image after it broadly distributed its products to department stores and outlet⁶ malls, which heavily discounted its goods. The company has been working to cut back on distribution and discounting.

 

"We believe that some of the work required on Versace, which includes toning down some of the brasher elements of the brand which are now out of step with the more subtle tone preferred by modern consumers, are precisely⁷ the issues with which Michael Kors has struggled and is yet to satisfactorily resolve," wrote Saunders in a report.

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