Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Italian handbags and accessories specialist Furla on the acquisition of its Australian distribution network from existing distributor, Luxury Retail Group.
Furla has a direct presence in 100 countries across the world. It opened its first boutique in Australia in December 2013 at Westfield Sydney, and now has 15 stores in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast. In 2017 Furla plans to enlarge the network by opening five new stores across Australia and New Zealand.
The acquisition of its Australian distribution network will strengthen Furla’s position in Oceania and create a platform for enhancing its distribution in the region, given the positive response from Australian customers to date.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partners Hayley Neilson and Mark Currell, who were supported by senior associates Jacob Kahwaji and John Erbacher and solicitor Tess Mierendorff. The acquisition required wide ranging specialist expertise from across the firm, including in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, intellectual property, real estate and employment.
Hayley Neilson said, “This is a landmark deal for Furla in Australia, and it has been a pleasure working with them on what was a complex cross-border acquisition with multiple stakeholders. We wish Furla continued success as it implements its expansion plans in Australia.”
Luxury Retail Group was advised by Arnold Bloch Leibler.