E-Land buys Italian fashion brand Mandarina Duck

Korean fashion retailer E-Land Group said Tuesday that it has signed a deal with Mariella Burani Fashion Group to buy Italian fashion brand Mandarina Duck.

The European sovereign debt crisis has forced high-profile European brands to seek mergers and acquisitions, providing a good opportunity to E-Land to tap deeper into the European market. The acquisition is part of the Korean company’s strategy to expand sales in Asian countries, including China.

Under the deal, E-Land purchased Mandarina Duck for 70 billion won (66 million U.S. dollars) including the Italian brand`s debts. Burani purchased the Italian brand from Finduck Group for 56 million euros (80 million dollars) in 2008.

Burani is known to have sold Mandarina Duck at a loss due to financial difficulties. Antichi Pellettieri, the majority shareholder of Mandarina Duck, has been suffering from a sales decline since 2008.

An E-Land source said, “The European fiscal crisis has put many European companies on sale at relatively cheap prices," adding, "We made the decision (to buy) since it is a good chance to further penetrate the European market.”

E-Land is confident of turning around the debt-stricken Mandarina Duck by utilizing its 4,200 sales units in China. The Korean retailer established a joint venture with U.S. fashion label Kate Spade early this year to enter the Chinese market.

wiseweb@donga.com