Marcolin partners Rivoli Group to strengthen in the Middle East

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
May 9, 2017

Marcolin has gained a firmer foothold in the highly lucrative Middle Eastern market. The Italian eyewear manufacturer owned by the PAI investment fund has announced in a press release the creation of a joint venture with the Rivoli Group, a leading luxury industry player in the Middle East and a partner of Marcolin's for several years.

Marcolin will have a 51% stake in the new company, called Marcolin Middle East, which will be based in Dubai, in the UAEs. The company will distribute the eyewear labels featured in Marcolin's portfolio, such as Tom Ford, Moncler, Roberto Cavalli, Balenciaga, Diesel and DSquared2.
 
They will be sold under the banner of Rivoli Eyezone, a retailer created in 2009 by the Dubai company. Giovani Zoppas, CEO of Marcolin, has underlined in a press release how the connection between his group and Rivoli is now stronger. The Middle East is "one of the key markets for the kind of luxury, fashion and generalist brands featured in our portfolio, as well as for our company's future prospects," he said.

From 2018, the Italian manufacturer is planning to set up a joint eyewear venture with French luxury group LVMH, focusing on the Céline and Louis Vuitton labels.
 
Rivoli Group was founded in 1988 and is managed by Indian businessman Ramesh Prabhakar, with Swiss group Swatch as its main minority shareholder. Besides the UAEs, it is present in Oman, Qatar and Bahrain, where it distributes some 110 luxury brands, notably in the watch sector, through a network of 380 stores.