Prada says Milan listing still on the table

Luxury Italian brand Prada still plans to become a dual-listed company but won’t commit until its listing date is “six months away,” the firm’s CFO Andrea Bonini told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed in an exclusive interview.

Speculation about a possible dual listing, with the group currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has persisted since 2022, when Prada’s Paolo Zannoni told Bloomberg it was an option but not a priority.

Now, Bonini said such a move “will be the right thing to do at some point.”

“We continue to believe it is the right thing to do. We will not commit to a timeline until that timeline is six months away,” he added.

Luxury stocks broadly experienced a slowdown after a Covid-19 pandemic-fueled boom and a plateau in Chinese traction. Bonini said that he sees the sector “stabilizing,” meaning a resurgence in consumption could be on the cards.

“The U.S. is in a good place, it’s very difficult to pick holes in U.S. performance generally,” he added. However, it may not continue to be smooth sailing because “when there are elements of bubbles that fuel, you know, the exuberance, there’s always the need to be a bit cautious,” he said.

The Prada group experienced 19 quarters of uninterrupted growth, the financial chief said, boosted by “a number of years now of stellar performance” from its youth-focused subsidiary Miu Miu.

Earlier this year, Prada also acquired Versace from Capri Holdings for $1.375 billion. Bonini suggested there is more consolidation to come across the luxury industry.

Elsewhere, the firm’s leadership is set to change as Lorenzo Bertelli, the son of Miuccia Prada, takes over from current group CEO Andrea Guerra, though there is no timeline set on the full transition of power.

“We are in a very lucky situation where we have the founders and the second generation involved with the company at the same time,” Bonini said, noting that Prada has also brought in external leadership over the years which has put the firm in a “great position.”

“First of all, I mean, it gives us stability. It gives us consistency… if you look at what has happened in the creative space over the past year, I think that having this stability and consistency is a great advantage and brings strong integrity to the brands as well,” Bonini added.

Prada’s share price is down 21.7% year-to-date.