Exor, the European holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, has acquired a 24 percent stake in Christian Louboutin for 541 million euros.

The investment will help the luxury footwear brand expand geographically, with a particular focus on the Chinese market, Exor said in a release. It will also help the company develop its multi-channel distribution strategy, in part by extending its existing digital and e-commerce platforms.

Fashioned designer Christian Louboutin [pictured] founded his eponymous label in Paris in 1991 alongside Bruno Chambelland. Since then, the business has grown into one of the world’s leading global luxury brands, known worldwide for its iconic red-soled shoes, and controlling an international network of 150 directly operated retail stores located in 30 countries.

Exor said the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, comes at a moment when Louboutin is “poised to capture significant new opportunities”.

Louboutin secures Exor as shareholder

“I have admired over the years Christian’s talent in creating one of the world’s great, independent global luxury brands,” said Exor chairman and CEO John Elkann in a statement. “Today, we’re very excited to be joining him, Bruno and their fantastic team to work together to accelerate the development of this ambitious company.

“We share the same family spirit, culture and values, which are the basis of a strong partnership. Christian Louboutin’s extraordinary creativity, energy and unique vision are precisely the qualities needed to build a great company.”

Alongside the investment, Exor will nominate two of the seven members of Louboutin’s board of directors.

Founder Christian Louboutin said a search for an associate that “should respect our values, be open-minded and should have an ambitious, young dynamism” led to Exor.

“And so it became clear that Exor would be the ideal partner with whom we would continue the Louboutin adventure, which began just 30 years ago,” Louboutin said. “We are, as is my entire team, very happy with this union and we would like to thank John and the Exor team for having taken such great care to understand the human history of our Maison in order to be able to accompany us well for the decades to come.”

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Image: courtesy of Christian Louboutin