Armani stake sale could be delayed beyond March 2027 deadline, report says

ROME, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The planned sale of a 15% stake in Italian fashion group Giorgio Armani may not be completed until after a March 2027 deadline set by the late designer's will, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Citing company sources, the Corriere della Sera said market conditions for the luxury industry were still challenging and negotiating a deal could require time.

The indications on timing in the will are not binding, the sources said, adding the need to reach the best possible terms for a sale took precedence. 

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Giorgio Armani, who died on September 4, 2025, instructed the eponymous foundation that controls the fashion house to sell an initial 15% stake within 18 months, giving priority to French luxury goods group LVMH, beauty giant L'Oreal and Franco-Italian eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica.

Corriere cited board documents from the Giorgio Armani Foundation as saying the process was still at an early stage and unlikely to be completed before 2027.

Evaluations over the stake sale are under way but remain preliminary because the transaction is complex, Rothschild & Co banker and foundation director Irving Bellotti told an April board meeting, Corriere reported.

Bellotti said that work on the deal would begin this year but was expected to be completed during 2027.

The group has also not ruled out a potential stock market listing, which would leave management in the hands of the family and current executives under the foundation's strategic oversight, Corriere said, citing the sources.

Corriere also cited Chief Executive Giuseppe Marsocci as telling the foundation's board in April that net group sales in the first two months of 2026 fell 7.5% at current exchange rates and 3.9% at constant exchange rates from a year earlier.

The company adopted measures to cut operating costs by €25 million ($28.84 million), Marsocci added.

The drop, he explained, was driven by the wholesale channel where sales declined 10.7% year-on-year at constant exchange rates, while direct-to-consumer sales rose 3.5% net of currency effects, Corriere reported.

Giorgio Armani will approve first-half results on September 8, Corriere said, adding they should broadly confirm January-February trends.

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(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Valentina Za and Sharon Singleton)