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21 Invest acquires Gianni Chiarini

21 Invest acquires Gianni Chiarini, a growing Italian player in the design and distribution of bags and accessories, with a high product quality and a smart value-for-money positioning.

21 Invest has acquired Gianni Chiarini, the fourth investment of the Italian fund 21 Investimenti III. Gianni Chiarini designs and distributes bags and accessories entirely crafted in the Florence area, with a high product quality and a smart value-for-money positioning. The company has enjoyed a sustained growth over the past few years, reaching sales of approximately €M 34 in 2016, of which 60% are realized outside Italy.

Gianni Chiarini, the company’s founder, was looking for a partner able to help him in planning future growth and managerializing. 21 Invest represented the right partner to guide the company forward into the next phase of development. The transaction saw 21 Invest acquiring a 69% stake, with the founder and the new CEO taking the remaining 31%.

In partnership with 21 Invest, the company will work towards transforming a “made-in-Florence” product into an international brand and accelerating the company’s growth according to the following two drivers:

  • Organic growth: exploit market potential by leveraging on marketing tools (selected flagship stores in Italy and potentially abroad, digital and social communication, etc.) and via new distribution channels (department stores, airport corners and online);
  • International expansion: expand in new geographies such as China, the USA and the UK, which are currently unexplored or underdeveloped.

Alessandro Benetton, Founding Managing Partner of 21 Invest, commented: “Gianni Chiarini represents a typical “Made-in-Italy” brand, characterized by a strong focus on the product, design and customer, with a great potential to develop in the global bags and the accessories market” .Entrepreneur Gianni Chiarini added: “I'm excited to start a new development phase of the company alongside a prestigious partner that aims to guide the company in accelerating its growth and strengthening its brand”.

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