SMCP Group, commonly known as SMCP, is a French holding company specializing in accessible

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, a tax on products not considered essential, such as speedboats or diamonds. **Luxury tax (sports), a ...

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

, headquartered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The company was formed in 2010 through the merger of

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Braz ...

, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot. SMCP operates over 1,600 points of sale, including boutiques, flagships, and within high-end department stores, in 43 countries. Isabelle Guichot has been the CEO of SMCP since August 2021.

History

Founding

Prior to the founding of SMCP Group,

, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot operated independently in the growing accessible luxury fashion niche in France. Following the acquisition of Claudie Pierlot's eponymous label by sisters Évelyne Chetrite of Sandro and Judith Milgrom of Maje in 2009, Pierlot lost her long battle with cancer and died, leaving her label's future to the two sisters. In 2010, SMCP S.A. was formed through the merger of Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot.

Under private equity's control

In September 2010, L Capital, the private equity arm of French luxury conglomerate

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

, purchased a 51 percent stake in SMCP Group. The investment provided SMCP access to L Capital and LVMH's assets in the textile sector and experience working with rapidly expanding, formerly family-run brands. In October 12, 2011, a Maje boutique opened in

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, becoming the first SMCP store to open in the U.S. and marking the beginning of a period of rapid worldwide

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

expansion. In March 2013, American

private-equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

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acquired a 65 percent stake in SMCP Group from L Capital and Florac for an estimated 650 million euros, becoming its majority owner. The company grew steadily over the years and saw its revenue jumped 32 percent in the first half of 2015 amid a rapidly growing accessible luxury market.

Acquisition by Shandong Ruyi

In April 2016, Chinese

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

conglomerate

Shandong Ruyi Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co., Ltd is a Chinese textiles and clothing company. Founded in 1972 in Jining, China, it is a subsidiary of Jining Ruyi Investment Co., Ltd. As of 2017, Ruyi Group was the largest textile manufacturer in China. It ...

acquired a controlling interest in SMCP from

for an estimated 1.3 billion euros to take advantage of China's growing middle class and in hopes of one day becoming "a global leader in accessible luxury." SMCP Group roughly doubled in size from 2013 to 2016. The company saw a 19.2 percent growth in revenue in the first half of 2016, including an "explosive" 51 percent in

Greater China In ethnogeography, "Greater China" is a loosely-defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage. The notion contains ...

, under new majority Chinese ownership. SMCP Group went public in October 2017 with

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

at 22 euros per share, giving the company a market capitalization of around 1.7 billion euros. It was the second-largest IPO on the Paris stock market in 2017. In June 2019, SMCP acquired De Fursac, a French luxury menswear brand known for its expertise in tailoring. Claudie Pierlot, a subsidiary of SMCP, became the last brand in the group to ban the use of fur in its collection in spring 2020. Since then, SMCP has been a fur-free fashion group. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the group reported a 31 percent decrease in revenue and a loss of 88.5 million euros in the first half of 2020. It quickly recovered and reported a profit of 600,000 euros or an increase of 89 million euros in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.

Recent developments

In October 2021, SMCP's majority shareholder European TopSoho, a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

-based subsidiary of

, defaulted on 250 million euros worth of bonds, angering institutional shareholders

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

and

the Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

. A 29 percent share of SMCP was taken over and sold by its creditors. In January 2022,

, and other investors joined forces under GLAS, a trustee, and voted to dismiss five board members representing the former majority owner of the company, European TopSoho. Isabelle Guichot, former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

and Maje, was named CEO of the group in 2021 to replace Daniel Lalonde upon his resignation. In 2023, SMCP which is already present in 47 countries, announced its entry to the Indian market, where it will open its first stores in 2024, through a partnership with the Reliance Brands Limited (RBL) group. In April 2024, Maje, SMCP's subsidiary, formed a partnership with the after-sales start-up, Save Your Wardrobe, to develop its clothing repair service.

Subsidiaries

SMCP controls the following subsidiaries as of August 2022. *

* Maje * Claudie Pierlot * De Fursac

References

External links

* {{Authority control French companies established in 2010 Clothing brands of France Clothing companies of France Clothing companies established in 2010 Design companies established in 2010 French brands Clothing brands High fashion brands Companies based in Paris Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies The Carlyle Group companies