Burberry to acquire leather-goods business

London - Luxury British fashion house Burberry is set to make a strategic investment in its leather goods supply chain. Burberry has entered into an agreement to acquire a luxury leather-goods facility from its longstanding Italian partner CF&P.

Based in Scandicci, Italy, CF&P specialises in the development and manufacturing of luxury leather handbags and accessories. Following the acquisition, Burberry's new leather goods operations are set to remain at the current site. CF&P employees, including a team of expert craftsmen who have worked closely with Burberry for more than a decade, are set to transfer to Burberry on completion of the acquisition, which is set to complete later this year.

"This acquisition is a major milestone for us and a statement of our ambition in this strategically important category," said Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer, Burberry. "It will create a centre of excellence for Burberry’s leather goods, covering all activities from prototyping, product innovation, engineering and the coordination of production. This will give us greater control over quality, cost, delivery and sustainability of our leather goods."

The deal includes equipment and inventory at CF&P facility. The acquisition comes as more and more luxury fashion houses, such as Hermes and Gucci take further control of their supply chains. Earlier this year, Gucci opened its new creative and innovative hub, Gucci Artlab in Florence. The new facility houses its own production space, as well as a centre for experimentation for leather goods and footwear.

Photo: Courtesy of Burberry