Officine Générale plots expansion

WWD has reported that Officine Generale has found a new investor and is now making plans for major expansion in the U.S., with new stores planned for New York and Los Angeles. Pierre Mahéo, designer and CEO Of Officine Générale, will be retaining a majority share of his label, and sold a minority stake to Untitled Group, a New York-based investment fund. Untitled Group joins BPI France, a French public investment bank that was Officine Générale’s first investor, as minority holders.

Mahéo launched Officine Générale in 2012 focused on men’s tailoring and would go on to introduce a women’s line. BPI France’s investment helped the brand built out international e-commerce and set up six stores. Untitled Group is known for their history of growing independent brands in the fashion and apparel space.

The deal took over half a year to finalize and included months of virtual meetings between Mahéo in Europe and the United Group team in New York. Mahéo was once a frequent traveler to New York pre-pandemic, but has been unable to return to the United States since.

The new plan for Officine Générale is to open ten stores in the next three years. A new New York store is planned for fall, followed by a Los Angeles store for next spring. The brand has wanted to open a store in New York for quite some time, with the U.S. being Officine Générale’s largest export market.

Recently, Officine Générale has been amplifying efforts to grow their e-commerce and digital marketing teams. The plan is to add 35 new positions, up from 40. Despite taking a hit from COVID-19 store lockdowns, the brand managed to double its e-commerce business during that time.