El Ganso: Cebrian family takes back 100% stake

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Jennifer Braun

Published
Sep 11, 2018

Three years and they’re gone. L Capital, now L Catterton, had acquired 49% of El Ganso in October 2015, with great ambitions for the Spanish casual chic brand founded in 2004 by brothers Alvaro and Clemente Cebrian. Today, the brand confirms that the family (the brothers and their father, Clemente Cebrian Ara), have fully repurchased all of L Catterton shares, through the family holding firm, Acturus Capital.

The firm now once again controls 100% of the shares of the company, according to Spanish media ModaEs. Considered a new tidbit of "accessible luxury", El Ganso initially attracted L Capital, which had previously completed a solid transaction with SMCP.

"The success of its international debut, especially in some of the world's most complicated cities like Paris, London and Milan, coupled with our international experience in the fashion industry, allows us to envision a very bright future for the brand and a high future growth", explained the group linked to LVMH, at the same. 

But the results of the Spanish brand have apparently not convinced the private equity fund, which usually keeps its holdings for five to seven years.
 
As planned in the initial agreement, El Ganso significantly expanded its store network. From some 120 points of sales at the end of 2015, its store network hit the 200 mark in 2018. But following its first year, which saw a high turnover, its activity capped last year.

Sales, which were 70 million in 2015, had reached 82 million in 2016 (when management initially announced the target of 90 million) and fell to 81 million last year. A gap, coupled with complicated operating results, could explain the departure of L Catterton. Still, neither the brand nor the fund has yet responded to requests for comment, while the repurchase amount of the agreement remains unknown. 
 
Finally, it remains to be seen how the Cebrian family intends to manage the future of the brand, now that it is free to make all the decisions.