Retail in Asia

In Trends

Damiani Group signs JV with Fosun’s jewelry unit Yuyuan

DAMIANI - D.Side Wedding Bands

Thanks to a common vision on luxury and jewelry, the Damiani Group and Fosun Group signed an agreement to establish a JV between Damiani Group and Yuyuan, Fosun’s jewelry unit.

SEE ALSO : Sony to acquire a minority stake in Epic Games

The company incorporated in China will distribute in Mainland China and  Macau two of the Damiani Group’s brands: Damiani, historical high-end jewelry brand known for its refined and sophisticated creations, characterised by its unique style; and Salvini, which celebrates Italian contemporary jewelry through irresistibly elegant collections inspired by contemporary women and their emotions.

This highly ambitious project aims at achieving strong growth on the Chinese market through the opening of more than ten Damiani flagship stores and around one hundred Salvini sales outlets. Yuyuan will hold 55 percent of the JV, which will be in operation from the fourth quarter of 2020.

On the one side, stands the Damiani Group, the high-end jewelry brand of the same name, which was founded in 1924 in Valenza, the beating heart of the world’s most important goldsmith district. The Group, in addition to Damiani also includes the Salvini, Bliss and Calderoni jewelry brands. The same Group also owns the Rocca luxury shopping chain and the Venini art glass brand.

The Group is the only international jeweler to be owned and managed to this day by the founder’s family, now into its third generation, Guido, Silvia and Giorgio Damiani, who interpret the brand’s legendary all-Italian heritage and its underlying values with a progressive look to the future. Damiani Group also holds the unbeaten record of 22 Diamonds International Awards, considered the Oscar of the jewelry world.

Guido Damiani - President of the Damiani Group
Source: Damiani Group

“We are very proud of this joint venture with Fosun,” Guido Damiani, President of the Group, commented announcing the partnership, “because we have found in them that same passion and entrepreneurial approach at the base of our own choices. We are convinced that they are the ideal partner to develop our brands for Chinese enthusiasts. Chinese are increasingly expert and aware of top quality, style and, indeed, heritage.”

On the other side, founded in 1992, Fosun is an innovation-driven consumer group with a mission to provide high-quality products and services for families around the world. Fosun has approached the world of fashion and luxury by investing in brands such as Wolford, producers of tech-driven high-end skin wear; American’s St John Knits, with its luxury knitwear; Caruso, specialised in men’s custom-made clothing and the fashion chain Tom Tailor. One of the latest acquisitions was Lanvin, Paris’ oldest Haute Couture house founded in 1889.

Fosun Group has considerable experience in the Chinese jewelry sphere with the subsidiary Yuyuan Inc. with which the Damiani Group has signed the joint venture agreement. It is the flagship platform in “Family & Happiness” business of Fosun Group, owns the historic Chinese jewelry brand “Lao Miao”, founded in 1906, which today records a turnover of about 3 billion dollars and has more than 2000 sales outlets.  In addition, Yuyuan Inc. has successively held the International Jewellery Institute IGI and the French designer jewelry brand DJULA and successfully cut into the global diamond industrial chain and international fashion jewellery market.

DAMIANI Handmade (2)
Source: Damiani Group

Mr. Xiaoliang Xu, Co-CEO of Fosun International and Chairman of Yuyuan Inc. said: “As one of the world’s leading jewelry brands, Damiani represents the legacy of Italian fine goldsmith art, the company has been constantly offering handcraft jewelries made with passion and detail to the world for nearly a century. Today, we are pleased to jointly introduce the true heritage of Italian jewelry to the Chinese market with Damiani Group. Our joint venture will enrich Yuyuan Inc.’s brand matrix in the field of high-end luxury goods, allowing us to accomplish an ecological industry chain in the jewelry sector”.

Mr. Zhen Huang, President of Yuyuan Inc. and CEO of Yuyuan Jewelry & Fashion Group, added: I feel delighted to join hands with Damiani in China, I am sure that our joint venture will form a solid foundation for the brand development of Damiani and Salvini in the Chinese market. Yuyuan is a domestically leading jewelry group with strong capacities in retail operation and sales, and we possess a large-scale retail chain network across China”. He continued: “We will share our adequate resources with Damiani and Salvini to ensure the brands a substantial growth in the future.”

Both the Damiani and the Yuyuan Inc. operate in countries critically affected by the Covid-19 virus, without however losing heart and remaining keen, though this partnership, to launch a message of faith in the future and in the recovery of the global economy.

SEE ALSO : Interparfums to acquire 25% of stake in Origines-parfums

Over the last decade, Damiani Group has identified and set up a project for expansion into the Asian markets, with the aim of increasing distribution and consolidating brand awareness.