EXCLUSIVE: Save the Duck Finds New Owners in L’Occitane Executives
MILAN — Animal-free outerwear specialist Save the Duck, the first Italian fashion company to obtain B Corp status in July 2019, has been acquired by two private investors. The brand had been controlled by private equity fund Progressio SGR since 2018.
Swiss beauty company L’Occitane Group executive director and chairman Reinold Geiger and chief executive officer André J. Hoffmann have raised their stakes in the brand through their personal investment vehicles Société D’Investissements Cime S.A. and Anatra Investments Ltd.
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Following the deal the two investors will own an 80 percent combined interest in the company, while the remainder controlled by Nicolas Bargi, founder and CEO of Save the Duck, who will remain in that role.
Both investors were previously owners of minority stakes in the company, alongside other undisclosed entities, which are now exiting the brand, known for its Plumtech down-free padding technology and commitment to sustainability.
The value of the transaction was not revealed.
“Both Reinold Geiger and I are delighted to be partnering with Nicolas Bargi and his team to take Save the Duck to the next level of international growth. Save the Duck’s commitment to sustainability, reflected in their achievement of B Corp status, was a key factor in our decision to invest in the company,” Hoffmann said.
Both entrepreneurs touted Progressio’s contribution to the growth of Save the Duck, which “has doubled its turnover under their mentorship. Now it’s our turn to rise to the challenge. The focus is and will continue to be on sustainability, as is already the case for all our ESG investments,” Geiger said.
In 2018, Progressio SGR acquired a 65 percent stake in the company, leading its growth throughout the pandemic. Over the past three years, the company’s revenues registered double-digit growth year-over-year. In 2021, Save the Duck’s revenues totaled 47.3 million euros and the company expects to register a 35 percent jump in 2022 to 64 million euros and net profits of 20 percent.
“We are very proud of the many initiatives undertaken in recent years together with Nicolas Bargi and his team, which have enabled the Save the Duck brand to establish itself further in international markets by promoting the values linked to an animal-free approach and sustainability,” commented Angelo Piero La Runa, senior partner at Progressio SGR who, alongside Filippo Gaggini, Massimo Dsan and Mauro Ballabio, supported the brand since the acquisition.
Save the Duck generates the bulk of its revenues from exports, which exceed 60 percent, with such countries as Germany and the U.S. leading the pack and the Asia Pacific region representing a new opportunity, according to Bargi. The brand is distributed via select retailers and boasts five flagship stores in Milan, Venice, Hong Kong and St. Moritz.
“Save the Duck proves that choosing to be sustainable pays off,” Bargi said. He hails from a family of textile entrepreneurs and established the brand in 2011.
“We are delighted that two successful entrepreneurs and managers such as Hoffmann and Geiger, who share our values, have decided to invest further in Save the Duck and to work together on fostering our international growth. Their active role in the company structure also guarantees continuity for the entire Save the Duck network: suppliers, colleagues and business partners. And in operations of this scale, that can never be taken for granted,” he said.
In addition to boasting the B Corp seal, Save the Duck was recognized as a Benefit Company in 2019, which by Italian law is bestowed on businesses that aim to generate a positive impact on society, workers, the community and the environment. The company has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030 and continues to donate 1 percent of its turnover to support charity initiatives.
Progressio and Bargi were assisted in the transaction by Mediobanca as financial adviser and Linklaters as legal adviser, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and Studio Gattai Minoli Partners assisted the new owners Geiger and Hoffmann.
