Del Vecchio: I will leave the company to the managers

In an interview with Corriere Economia, Leonardo Del Vecchio, president of Luxottica, spoke about his successors, the dollar, China and acquisitions.

'I'll stay on for another two-three years and then that's it. I've promised my family' Del Vecchio explained. 'The company will be under the control of management and the role of the family (his five children, Ed.) will be that of shareholder only. We are working on preparing the succession.'

Referring to the weakness of the dollar against the euro, Del Vecchio commented: 'As Luxottica, 70% of our billings are in the Usa, but we also have costs in dollars. The weak dollar only affects after-tax profits. As a businessman, however, I prefer the company to be in a country with a growing economy and a weak currency, like the United States, rather than the other way round.'

About competition from the Chinese, the head of Luxottica stated: 'China must also be seen as an opportunity: it will become a consumer country, we can sell there what we don't sell in the United States. There are already one hundred million people with double the spending power of people in Italy and they're beginning to buy designer items.' And according to Del Vecchio, Made in Italy 'is not finished. High range of products will find space in countries like China or India.'

Returning to Luxottica, the divorce from Armani and the new Versace license, Del Vecchio once again expressed regret, especially at the loss of the personal relationship with the stylist, but he is convinced that the new brand is 'exceptional' and 'is beginning to respond very well.' Excluding a shareholding in the medusa fashion house 'there would be a conflict of interests with the other brands I produce', he explained that he joined the Board of Directors 'to contribute to the growth of the brand, because it could affect our work. Versace is a company that must be set in order, but it has considerable potential. If we get a good management team it could be launched again quite soon. We're working on it. The Versace reorganization will take place before end 2004.'

Lastly, on Cole National and the mysterious takeover bid his lips were still tightly sealed: 'I can't answer, anything I say would affect the stock. No comment'.