Kering’s investment fund, dedicated to promising startups, has acquired a minority stake in the fast-growing brand in China’s booming 24-karat gold jewelry segment, which is popular with younger generations. The luxury group is thus banking on a trend that defies the rise in the price of this precious metal and the slowdown in the luxury market in China.
Gold is the stuff of dreams for young Chinese people…
And this trend has not escaped the attention of the Kering group, which has just launched its “House of Dreams” (editor’s note). The purpose of this new structure is to make long-term investments, either minority or majority, in emerging brands with promising potential, or to form partnerships with them.
Now, the luxury group, now headed by Luca de Meo, has just acquired a minority stake in Chinese jeweler Borland, via Kering Ventures, its investment fund dedicated to promising start-ups.
Jewelry inspired by the imperial era
Founded in 1988 in Hangzhou, the start-up announced in early December that it had raised more than 100 million yuan ($14 million) in funding. Among the investors is Kering Ventures, alongside leading Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital, co-founded by billionaire Lei Jun, president of Xiaomi, a company specializing in mobile phones and consumer electronics.
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Read also > Kering plans to launch an investment structure called “House of Dreams”
Featured photo: © Borland
