Gucci owner splashes out €1.3 billion: A house situated on Milan’s esteemed Via Monte Napoleone has been acquired by Gucci owner Kering SA for a substantial sum of €1.3 billion ($1.41 billion).

A division of Blackstone Property Partners Europe has sold Via Monte Napoleone 8 to the French luxury company, which was announced on Thursday. Kering claims that its five-story, eighteenth-century building is one of the largest stores on the world-famous Boulevard thanks to its more than 5,000 square meters of shop area.

The building is situated in one of the most prestigious shopping areas in the world, and it is currently home to a Cova branch and Prada, two prestigious fashion labels owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.

There has been a recent uptick in the price of high-end retail real estate, with Kering having paid $963 million for a building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in January.

Kering, with headquarters in Paris, stresses that these kinds of investments are a component of its strategic real estate strategy to secure great locations for its assortment of high-end brands. Through designated entities, the firm plans to manage its real estate holdings, with an emphasis on maintaining interests in prime properties in conjunction with co-investors.

In February, Jean-Marc Duplaix, Deputy CEO of Kering, brought attention to the fact that the firm is picky about the buildings it buys, focusing on prime locations in important cities that boost the value of its brands. According to him, there are only about three flagship stores owned by the corporation, even though they operate over 1,800 selling points. In order to increase its agility and reduce its exposure to real estate, it is looking into forming partnerships with financial funds and increasing its ownership to up to fifteen buildings, which would make up only one percent of its network.

Although Kering is increasing its real estate holdings, the company has no plans to enter the property development industry, as CEO Francois-Henri Pinault made clear. Strategic acquisitions that complement the company’s existing portfolio of luxury brands and further its long-term growth goals continue to take center stage.