LVMH owns 75 Maisons. Kering holds a dozen. For over two decades, Prada Group owned five brands — and still managed to outperform most of the industry.
What began in 1913 as a small leather goods shop in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan has blossomed into one of the most influential forces in the world of luxury.
The conventional wisdom in luxury is that scale wins. Acquire more brands, enter more categories, dominate more shelf space. It’s the playbook that turned LVMH’s sprawling empire of 75+ Maisons into the world’s most valuable luxury group and made Kering’s portfolio approach to luxury a case study in brand management.
So who owns Prada? The Bertelli-Prada family — and they ignored that playbook entirely. They kept their portfolio at five brands — Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, and Marchesi 1824 — while competitors went on acquisition sprees. Then, in December 2025, they made their first major acquisition in over two decades: Versace, for $1.38 billion.
Was the restraint a mistake they finally corrected? Or was it the very discipline that put them in a position to acquire Versace from a place of strength? Here’s what the Prada Group actually owns, who controls it, and why this family-run conglomerate operates differently from every other luxury giant.
- Founded in: 1913
- Owner: Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada
- Type: Public
- Headquarters: Milan, Italy
- Group CEO: Andrea Guerra
- Employees: 14,000+
- Website:pradagroup.com
Who owns Prada?
Prada S.p.A. is controlled by the Bertelli-Prada family, who hold approximately 80% of the company through Prada Holding. The remaining shares trade publicly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under ticker 1913 (1913:HKG) — a nod to the year Mario Prada founded the original leather goods shop in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
The Hong Kong listing, completed in 2011, was itself a contrarian move. While every other Italian luxury house gravitated towards European or American exchanges, Prada chose Asia — a bet on where future luxury demand would come from. It proved prescient. Asia-Pacific now accounts for a significant share of the group’s revenue.
The two figures who transformed Prada from a Milanese leather goods boutique into a global luxury group are Miuccia Prada — Mario Prada’s granddaughter, who took creative control in 1978 — and her husband Patrizio Bertelli , who built the business infrastructure. Together, they created one of the few luxury groups where creative vision and commercial strategy have been inseparable for over four decades.
Every brand in the Prada Group portfolio
The Prada Group’s portfolio today comprises five distinct brands, plus two ancillary ventures. Each serves a different customer and price point, but all share the group’s Italian heritage and emphasis on craft.
Prada
The flagship. Founded in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as Fratelli Prada, a leather goods boutique in Milan, the Italian brand has evolved into a global fashion powerhouse.
Under the co-creative direction of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons (who joined in April 2020), the brand has undergone a critical and commercial renaissance — balancing Miuccia’s intellectual approach to fashion with Simons’ minimalist rigour.
Now, the mere mention of Prada brings to mind images of luxury and a devil-may-care attitude—much like its trademark, upside-down triangle logo, which graces the brand’s creations.
Prada operates across ready-to-wear, leather goods, footwear, and eyewear. Its positioning sits at the intersection of high fashion and intellectual cool — a space no other brand credibly occupies. The brand’s retail network spans over 600 directly operated stores worldwide, concentrated in Milan, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, and Shanghai.
- Founded in: 1913
- Country: Italy
- Year Acquired by Prada Group: Founding brand
- Website: www.prada.com
Miu Miu
Miu Miu is the Prada Group’s remarkable growth story— and the answer to anyone asking who the Miu Miu owner is. Named after Miuccia Prada’s nickname, the brand was launched in 1993 as a more youthful, playful counterpart to Prada. For years, it was a solid but unremarkable secondary brand. Then something shifted.
In 2024, Miu Miu’s retail sales surged 93.2% at constant exchange rates, crossing the €1 billion revenue threshold for the first time in its history. That is not a typo — near-double growth in a year when most luxury brands reported flat or declining sales. According to Prada Group’s 2024 annual results, Miu Miu’s success was driven by strong full-price sell-through across all product categories and geographies, with particular strength in leather goods and ready-to-wear. The momentum carried into 2025, with Miu Miu posting 41% retail sales growth in the first nine months of the year, making it the fastest-growing major luxury brand globally.
- Founded in: 1993
- Country: Italy
- Year Acquired by Prada Group: Founding brand
- Website: miumiu.com
Church’s
Church’s is the quiet member of the Prada portfolio. Founded in Northampton, England, in 1873 by Thomas Church, it is one of the world’s most respected makers of hand-crafted leather footwear. Prada Group acquired Church’s in 1999, recognising the brand’s heritage value and the complementary nature of English shoemaking to Italian fashion.
Church’s operates a small network of boutiques in London, Milan, Paris, and Tokyo. It does not chase trends. Its Goodyear-welted shoes — a construction method where each pair takes up to eight weeks to complete — represent a different kind of luxury: durability, tradition, and understated craftsmanship.
- Founded in: 1873
- Country: United Kingdom
- Year Acquired by Prada Group: 1999
- Website: church-footwear.com
Versace (Acquired December 2025)
The acquisition that surprised the industry. On 10 April 2025, Prada Group announced it would acquire 100% of Versace from Capri Holdings for an enterprise value of €1.25 billion ($1.38 billion). The deal closed on 2 December 2025, marking the Prada Group’s first major brand acquisition in over two decades. The transaction was funded by €1.5 billion in new debt — €1.0 billion in term loans and €0.5 billion in bridge financing, according to Prada Group’s official announcement.
Founded in 1978 by Gianni Versace, the iconic Italian luxury brand was previously bought by Capri Holdings (then Michael Kors) for $2.1 billion in 2018.
Versace brings something the Prada portfolio lacked: maximalism. Where Prada is intellectual and Miu Miu is playful, Versace is bold, baroque, and unapologetically glamorous. Donatella Versace transitioned from creative director to chief brand ambassador, while Lorenzo Bertelli was appointed executive chairman of the brand — his first leadership role outside the core Prada business.
Car Shoe
Car Shoe, founded in 1963 by Italian artisan Gianni Mostile, revolutionized footwear with its iconic rubber-studded driving loafer. It became part of the Prada Group in 2001.
- Founded in: 1963
- Country: Italy
- Year Acquired by Prada Group: 2001
- Website: carshoe.com
Marchesi 1824
A slice of Milanese history, Marchesi 1824 is a historic Italian patisserie brand – which, yes, you’ve guessed it – was founded in 1824 by Angelo Marchesi in Milan. Renowned for its artisanal pastries, chocolates, and confectionery, Marchesi 1824 was acquired by Prada Group in 2014 and now operates elegant cafés within Prada stores.
- Founded in: 1824
- Country: Italy
- Year Acquired by Prada Group: 2014
- Website: pasticceriamarchesi.com
Luna Rossa
Luna Rossa is the group’s sailing team, competing in the America’s Cup — a passion project of Patrizio Bertelli that doubles as a high-visibility brand platform.
The family also runs Fondazione Prada, the contemporary art institution that has become one of Milan’s most significant cultural landmarks since its permanent venue opened in 2015.
Why did Prada Group stay so small for so long?
While LVMH completed over 30 acquisitions between 2000 and 2024, and Kering built its portfolio through M&A, Prada Group made exactly zero major brand acquisitions in that period. This was not a lack of ambition — it was a deliberate strategy rooted in the family’s philosophy of operational control.
Patrizio Bertelli has spoken publicly about the risks of over-diversification in luxury. His argument: every brand acquisition dilutes management attention. In an industry where the difference between a €1,000 bag that sells out and one that gathers dust is often a single creative decision, concentrated focus is a competitive advantage. The Prada Group’s operating margins have consistently outperformed Kering’s and rivalled LVMH’s fashion division — with a fraction of the portfolio complexity.
The Versace acquisition, then, is not a reversal of strategy. It is a calculated expansion from a position of financial strength — the group’s 2024 revenue hit €5.43 billion with 17% growth — into a brand with, as Prada Group’s announcement stated, “significant untapped growth potential.” The fact that they waited until Versace was available at a relative discount from a struggling Capri Holdings underscores the family’s patient approach to capital allocation.
Who will lead Prada Group next?
The succession question is the one every family-controlled luxury group must answer. At Prada, the answer is Lorenzo Bertelli — the 37-year-old son of Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, and the person Patrizio has publicly confirmed as his eventual successor.
Lorenzo Bertelli currently serves as the group’s chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility. In mid-2025, Andrea Guerra was appointed chief executive officer — a move widely interpreted as a bridge appointment, giving Lorenzo time to gain operational experience before assuming the top role. Lorenzo’s appointment as executive chairman of Versace is a significant step in that transition.
The challenge is familiar to anyone who studies luxury dynasties — and Lorenzo is part of a broader wave of the next generation of luxury leaders taking the reins across the industry. The founders of modern Prada — Miuccia and Patrizio — are irreplaceable in the literal sense. Their instincts, relationships, and creative-commercial partnership cannot be taught. What can be built, however, is a structure robust enough to thrive without them. The Guerra appointment and Lorenzo’s expanding role suggest the family is building exactly that — a carefully engineered transition rather than a sudden handover.
Prada Group at a glance
| Brand | Founded | Acquired | Category | Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prada | 1913 | Founding brand | Fashion, leather goods, footwear | Intellectual luxury |
| Miu Miu | 1993 | Launched in-house | Fashion, leather goods, eyewear | Youthful, playful luxury |
| Church’s | 1873 | 1999 | Footwear | Heritage English craftsmanship |
| Versace | 1978 | 2025 | Fashion, accessories, home | Bold, maximalist glamour |
| Car Shoe | 1963 | 2001 | Footwear | Italian driving heritage |
| Marchesi 1824 | 1824 | 2014 | Patisserie | Milanese tradition |
What sets Prada Group apart from LVMH and Kering?
Three things distinguish Prada Group from its larger rivals. First, family control: with 80% ownership, the Bertelli-Prada family can make long-term decisions that publicly traded conglomerates with dispersed shareholdings cannot. They chose to list in Hong Kong rather than Milan or Paris. They chose to invest in sailing rather than football sponsorships. They chose to wait 25 years before making another acquisition. Each decision would have faced shareholder resistance at a more conventionally governed company.
Second, creative concentration. At LVMH, Bernard Arnault oversees 75 brands across wines, spirits, fashion, jewellery, hotels, and retail. At Prada Group, the founding couple could — until the Versace acquisition — personally influence every major creative decision across the entire portfolio. That is an extraordinary luxury in itself.
Third, the Miu Miu effect. No other luxury group has a secondary brand growing at 93% annually. Miu Miu’s resurgence has shifted the group’s revenue mix, reduced dependence on the Prada brand, and demonstrated that the group’s creative infrastructure can build brands, not just maintain them. For a company that just acquired Versace — a brand widely seen as underperforming its potential — that track record matters.
With Versace, the Prada Group has entered a new chapter. But the principles that got it here — creative discipline, family control, and the patience to act only when the opportunity is right — remain the foundation.