Market Spotlight: Why Armani succession speaks to Italy’s wider succession trend

Armani, the iconic Italian fashion house led by designer Giorgio Armani for five decades, stands at an inflection point.

For years, Giorgio Armani, who passed away in 2025, fiercely guarded the label’s independence. But before his death, he tasked the Giorgio Armani Foundation (formed in 2016 to defend the business against a breakup or takeover) with selling an initial 15% minority stake in the business. In his will, Armani named three preferred potential buyers, namely luxury goods business LVMH, beauty company L L’Oréal, and eyewear group EssilorLuxottica, as his favored investors, according to FTreports. The business, which analysts estimate could be worth up to €7 billion, has been preparing for formal talks with investors.

Securing a deal will not be straightforward at a time when luxury spending has cooled and the Armani business prepares to move forward with a new board that now includes high-profile executives from outside the family, such as former Gucci chief executive Marco Bizzarri and Yoox founder Federico Marchetti. The company has also appointed Dario Vitale as creative director for Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani Accessories. Vitale is the first external designer appointed to lead an Armani line.

The succession challenge

The Armani leadership transition is reflective of a wider generational shift facing thousands of other Italian family businesses.

According to KPMG, more than 85% of Italian companies are family-run, and family enterprises account for around 80% of the country’s GDP, according to academic studies. Over the years, many of these companies have grown from small and medium-sized businesses into global giants. But after years of commercial success, many of these large family companies now stand at a crossroads, as a founding generation of entrepreneurs looks for ways to facilitate succession and hand over control of their businesses to new owners.

The AUB Observatory, a research and database initiative tracking large Italian family-owned companies, has tracked almost 2,000 generational transitions since 2010, and has observed a sharp acceleration in handovers in since 2020. The AUB estimates that more than a third of family businesses could be involved in a generational transition in the next decade.

A complex process

Executing succession is a complex task shaped by myriad commercial and family drivers.

The AUB estimates that in 70% of cases succession remains traditional, with leadership passed on to the eldest child. The succession model, however, is evolving, with the AUB noting that merit and higher levels of education are increasingly influencing succession decisions. Ownership structures, meanwhile, have become more complex, with an average of 2.5 potential successors per family company.

In some cases, family companies may also require a capital injection or have to bring in outside executive-level expertise to fill the gaps left by exiting founders who kept tight control over decision-making for decades.

For dealmakers, particularly those in private equity firms, however, succession complexity can serve as a catalyst for transaction flow.

PE dealmakers can often address many of the challenges that come with facilitating family company succession. In cases where there are disputes among succeeding family members about the leadership and strategic direction of the family business, buyout investors can help to mediate.

PE firms can also support recruitment at board level and structure deals that allow family members who do not want to take over the running of a company to monetize value from inherited company stakes, while still retaining a role within the business.

Armani may be the most recognizable name navigating Italy’s generational handover, but it is by no means the only one attracting the attention of dealmakers. As Italy’s founding generation prepares to hand over the reins, the country’s family businesses are providing dealmakers with one of the richest sources of transaction flow.