Armani CEO Giuseppe Marsocci Weighs Who Gets the First 15 Percent of the House
Observer ·
For Armani’s beauty and eyewear partners, a shareholding would add influence to longstanding licensing deals. Marsocci also has to settle how a first investment leads to the next sale.
Giuseppe Marsocci is weighing how to sell the first 15 percent of Giorgio Armani’s fashion house . The founder will name three preferred buyers. The CEO has left open the possibility of dividing the stake among several investors, a choice that could complicate a much larger sale later.
LVMH , L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica were named in Giorgio Armani’s will . They have different reasons to consider an investment: LVMH has experience running fashion houses, while Armani’s two licensees have longstanding beauty and eyewear businesses.
“It is not written in stone that it has to be one investor,” Marsocci told reporters at Armani’s Milan fashion show on Sept. 27, according to Reuters . He said no decision had been made.
Marsocci said the company intended to follow the founder’s timetable, which puts the first sale between September 2026 and March 2027. But an Oct. 22 report by Business People , citing Il Sole 24 Ore’s reporting the previous day, said the search could extend beyond March and include investors outside the preferred trio.
Giorgio Armani , who died Sept. 4, 2025, at 91, left detailed instructions for the company he co-founded in 1975. His will calls for an initial 15 percent sale within 12 to 18 months, followed by the sale of an additional 30 percent to 54.9 percent of the company to the same buyer between three and five years after his death. Together, the two sales could leave that investor with 45 percent to 69.9 percent.
A public listing is the alternative to the second sale. The will requires the Giorgio Armani Foundation to retain at least 30.1 percent after a listing. The initial 15 percent stake carries 15 percent of the voting rights and the right to appoint one board member.
Marsocci was 61 when he was appointed CEO on Oct. 16, 2025 . A longtime Armani executive, he had spent the preceding six years as global chief commercial officer.
Bankers and advisers consulted by Reuters in September estimated the group’s value at approximately 5 billion euros to 7 billion euros—about $5.6 billion to $7.8 billion at Oct. 30 exchange rates .
At that range, a 15 percent holding would have a proportional value of 750 million euros to 1.05 billion euros, before accounting for negotiated rights or other terms.
The company generated 2.19 billion euros in revenue in 2025, with sales down 2.8 percent at constant exchange rates, Vogue Business reported . Direct-to-consumer sales grew 2 percent, while indirect sales fell 7 percent.
Wholesale orders weakened as Armani narrowed distribution. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 3 percent despite the sales decline.
Marsocci is also overseeing a business plan ahead of the ownership transition. Bloomberg reported on June 30 , citing people familiar with the matter, that Armani was working with Boston Consulting Group and exploring expansion in handbags and hospitality.
On Sept. 16, the group appointed Dario Vitale creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani accessories. In the announcement, Marsocci singled out accessories as a growth opportunity.
L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica already have longstanding commercial relationships with Armani. L’Oréal, led by Nicolas Hieronimus , has developed and distributed Armani fragrances, cosmetics and skin care since 1988. Its beauty license runs through 2050 .
In its Oct. 22 sales update , L’Oréal highlighted growth from Emporio Armani Stronger With You and the launch of Giorgio Armani I Will. Its Luxe division recorded 4.18 billion euros in sales in the three months ended Sept. 30, up 6.4 percent on a like-for-like basis. Those are division-wide results, not Armani brand sales.
Armani’s eyewear partnership began with Luxottica in 1988. In 2022, EssilorLuxottica and Armani signed a 15-year licensing renewal effective Jan. 1, 2023. Both licensees have commercial reasons to care about who owns the fashion house, even without taking responsibility for its clothing business.
Reuters put the licensees’ combined 2025 revenue from the Armani agreements at almost 2 billion euros. Armani earns royalties on those sales.
LVMH brings a different kind of experience. Its portfolio includes Louis Vuitton, Dior and Fendi , and it operates fashion houses outright. Taking a small stake in Armani would give it a more limited initial role, with the terms of a later sale or listing still to be determined.
In May, Reuters relayed La Repubblica’s account of a possible three-way split, with each preferred buyer taking 5 percent. The Italian newspaper did not identify its sources. Marsocci’s September comments stopped short of endorsing that split.
At an assumed 5 billion euro valuation, each 5 percent holding would have a proportional value of 250 million euros, compared with 750 million euros for the full initial stake.
Marsocci does not have sole authority over the transaction. Pantaleo “Leo” Dell’Orco , Armani’s longtime partner, chairs the company and its foundation. Under the initial succession arrangements , he held 40 percent of the voting rights and the foundation held another 30 percent.
The will provides for foundation veto rights over specified major decisions, including changes to the company’s statutes, capital increases and mergers. A shared stake would also require agreement on how the outside investors exercise their voting and board rights and participate in the next transaction.
Marsocci has left room for more than one buyer. A split 15 percent sale would still have to resolve who could buy the larger holding later, under a succession plan that envisages a second deal with the same buyer.