Puig buys majority stake in Belgian fashion label

Barcelona-based fragrance firm Puig has bought a majority stake in the high-end Belgian fashion label, Dries van Noten, the Catalan company said in a statement on Thursday. Dries Van Noten, the designer who set up the brand in 1986 in the city of Antwerp, is to keep a minority stake and will stay on as company chairman and creative director.

According to the Catalan family-owned group, the purchase represents a “strategic alliance that establishes the basis for the brand’s future growth.” Dries van Noten has fashion boutiques in Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Kuwait, United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and South Korea.

With the purchase of the independent fashion firm, Puig continues its strategy of growing through the acquisition of high-end brands. The Catalan company, which is the licensed brand for perfumes like Prada and which develops fragrances for the likes of Paco Rabanne and Nina Ricci, did not disclose how much the deal was worth.