New shareholder for leather goods brand Polène

Fast-growing French leather goods brand Polène is no longer part of the portfolio of Eutopia, the asset management company for the Otium Capital investment fund, which owns stakes in Oh My Cream! and Merci Handy. According to investigative reporting site L’Informé, Eutopia’s minority stake in Polène has been acquired by the L Catterton investment fund. Polène’s name is in fact quietly included in the list of transactions carried out by the LVMH-owned fund, which also holds stakes in Birkenstock and Etro, and has recently invested in make-up brand Kiko Milano.

Contacted by FashionNetwork.com, Polène, Otium Capital and L Catterton have not yet responded.

The arrival of a new shareholder coincides with a very busy time for Polène, launched in 2016 by Antoine, Mathieu and Elsa Mothay, two brothers and a sister, the grandchildren of the designer behind French ready-to-wear label Saint James. Polène is opening new stores in South Korea and soon in London, Hamburg and Paris, where it will inaugurate a 1,700 square-metre store at one end of avenue des Champs-Elysées by the end of the year.

A DNVB initially active online only, Polène is said to currently generate 28% of its revenue through its brick-and-mortar stores, distinctive for their sophisticated look. According to official documents, La Cadette, the company that manages Polène’s business in France, and its subsidiaries in the USA and South Korea, reported a revenue of nearly €143 million in 2023, equivalent to a 123% increase over the previous year.

The company has been busy on the hiring front in the last few months to bolster its vigorous growth (with 134 new hires planned in 2024), and will open new headquarters on rue du Louvre in Paris. Polène produces leather goods and jewellery, and is set to expand its output capacity in Spain, where its production sites are based.