Chanel buys Spanish tannery Colomer Leather

French luxury company Chanel has acquired 100% ownership of Spanish leather tannery Colomer Leather Group, formerly known as Colomer Munmany, through one of its holdings. The company is one of the most established leather suppliers in the Iberian Peninsula and is joining Chanel’s portfolio to ensure the supply of leather, particularly for the manufacture of leather goods.

The purchase, whose price was not disclosed, was followed by the departure of the company’s former owners and the arrival of Chanel to the board of directors, Spanish business journal Expansion reported. Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel, has become the chairman of the Barcelona-based historical tannery and leather manufacturer. Colomer Leather Group declined a request for comment from FashionNetwork.com.

Prior to its acquisition by Chanel, Colomer’s main shareholders were Pmerschdra, a company linked to the Olabarría family, which held a 67.76% stake in the business, as well as Bardesana Inversiones, owned by the Sumarroca family with a 19.32% stake. The company had undergone a restructuring process in recent times, leading to job losses and factory closures, after struggling to compete with low-cost rivals from other countries. Currently, Colomer has one tannery in Tarragona, Spain, and five subsidiaries in its home market and one in Japan.

Last year, the company reported consolidated sales of 38.5 million euros, down 5% on the previous year. The numbers are in stark contrast to Colomer’s performance in the past, with revenues reaching 113 million in 1997. It currently employs 218 people and exports 60% of its leather.

Meanwhile, owned by brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, Chanel published its financial accounts for the first time in its history in June. The luxury company made $10 billion (about 8.3 billion euros) in revenue in June alone, while net profit was 1.5 billion euros. Chanel acquired its first tannery, a French company called Bodin-Joyeux in 2013, and in 2016 it acquired a majority stake in Megisserie Richard. According to Bruno Pavlovsky, the investment offered “the opportunity to strengthen Chanel leather chain excellence”, an ambition that has been confirmed again with the acquisition of the historic Spanish supplier.

Chanel buys Spanish tannery Colomer Leather

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