Lanvin Group shares tumble following NYSE debut

Luxury fashion group Lanvin saw its shares fall 25 percent in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The group, which is owned by China’s Fosun International, began trading on Thursday under the ticker ‘LANV’ after announcing in March plans to become publicly traded via a business combination with Primavera Capital Acquisition Corporation (PCAC).

PCAC is a special purpose acquisition company listed on the NYSE and is also an affiliate of global investment firm Primavera Capital Group.

Lanvin, whose portfolio includes its namesake label as well as Sergio Rossi, Wolford, and St. John Knits, began trading at 10.2 dollars on Thursday before surging above 20 dollars then dropping down to 7.63 dollars at the closing bell.

The group had initially expected a valuation of 1.5 billion dollars when announcing plans to float earlier this year, but that was dropped to 1 billion dollars in October due to various factors including “the latest currency and stock market environment”.

‘Untapped opportunities’ in North America, Asia

“Listing on the NYSE today marks an important milestone in our strategy to build a portfolio of iconic luxury fashion brands,” Lanvin Group CEO and chair Joann Cheng told investors on Thursday.

“The group's rapidly improving performance in recent years has demonstrated the strength of our global platform and the success of our innovative growth strategy,” she said.

Cheng said the group is confident in delivering “significant upside potential and long-term value for our shareholders as we continue to solidify our foundation in Europe and capture the many as-yet untapped opportunities in the North American and Asian markets”.

In October, Lanvin reported a 73 percent increase in revenue to 202 million euros in the first half of the year, driven by the Europe and North America markets which were up 91 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

Looking ahead, Cheng said: “We have ambitious plans for the future. With over 150 million dollars raised in cash proceeds and no debt at the group level, we are now more than ever well-positioned to accelerate growth across our portfolio with our unique proposition to transform heritage for tomorrow's customers.”