Prada heir to head Versace after buy-out

Lorenzo Bertelli, the son of designer Miuccia Prada, said Wednesday he will become executive chairman of Versace following the Prada Group's takeover of its smaller Italian rival.

Prada announced in April it was buying Versace from US group Capri Holdings for 1.25 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars).

Bertelli, currently Prada's group chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility, confirmed his role at Versace in an interview with a Bloomberg podcast.

He said the buy-out of Versace, whose lustre has faded in recent years, was a "strategic choice".

"The brand is much bigger than its revenue," he said.

"We like difficult missions so we are trying to bring the business back to the greatness of the brand that it once was."

Unlike Versace, the Prada Group is in robust health, fuelled by strong sales of its younger Miu Miu Line.

Miuccia Prada, the granddaughter of group founder Mario, is co-creative director, while her husband Patrizio Bertelli is chairman of the board.(AFP)