Prada S.p.A.

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Description

Prada S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and L’Oréal for fragrances and cosmetics.

Founded in 1913 and named for the family of founder Mario Prada, the company originally sold imported English animal goods before transitioning to waterproof nylon fabrics in the 1970s under the leadership of Mario's granddaughter, Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli. By the 1990s, Prada was perceived as a luxury brand, a designation credited to originality in its designs. To further the business, Miuccia Prada founded Miu Miu as a subsidiary of Prada around this time period; the company additionally partnered with LVMH to acquire a joint stake in Fendi; Prada further assisted LVMH in its failed takeover of Gucci.

The brand struggled through the late 2000s and early to mid 2010s, which included a failed initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, though began a resurgence in popularity entering into the 2020s. Miuccia Prada and Bertelli, both entering old age, began a transition in leadership to their children in the 2020s, bringing in former Luxottica CEO Andrea Guerra to lead the company for the years during the transition. The house presently sees annual revenue in the billions of Euros, making €4.2 billion in 2022 with profit that same year totaling to €776 million; furthermore, Prada and less so Miu Miu are seen as having very high desirability among consumers across various reports.