Ellassay to purchase Laurel fashion brand

Shenzhen Ellassay Fashion Co Ltd, the Guangdong-based high-end female clothing manufacturer, is hoping to buy a Hong Kong company which owns the rights to the German fashion brand, Laurel GMBH.

Ellassay issued a statement on the Shanghai Stock Exchange saying it plans to acquire East Light International Investment (Hong Kong) Ltd for 11.18 million euros ($12.5 million), as part of a planned global expansion.

The takeover would see Ellassay owning Laurel's design, pricing and production rights and all its stores on the Chinese mainland.

It would also give Ellassay the right to trade under the brand in some markets outside of the Chinese mainland. Laurel has more than 1,000 retail outlets worldwide.

Ellassay, which derives its name from Paris' Avenue des Champs-Elysees, would also take control of certain Laurel visual brand images and some other global resources, it said.

Founded in 1978 in Munich, Laurel was formerly one of three luxury brands owned by Escada AG, an international fashion group specializing in women's designer clothes.

The statement said the Laurel brand would become complementary to Ellassay's existing high-end womenswear brands, and the takeover would offer the German company market advantages in design, marketing and supply chain, bringing it better profitability in China.

Xia Guoxin, Ellassay's chairman, said the company plans to open about 100 Laurel-branded stores in China in the next three years.

Ellassay had first-half revenues of 363 million yuan ($56.9 million), a 11.5 percent increase, and net profit of 65.7 million yuan, a 11.66 percent rise year-on-year.

Prior to the latest announcement, there had been speculation that Ellassay was in discussion with Ports, a Hong Kong-listed high-end fashion brand, which has been struggling with sales declines due to the weaker demand for luxury brands.