Golden Goose: Chinese Group Hongsang Offers €2.5 Billion

The offer would value Golden Goose at around ten times its expected EBITDA (enterprise value including debt) for 2025. Last year, Golden Goose generated nearly €655 million in revenue, 80% of which came from sneakers, and just over €342 million in the first half of 2025. This figure represents a 13% increase, in a context where the luxury market has been struggling overall.

These revenues explain the appetite of buyers for this type of company, which combines aspiration towards the high-end segment with an effective sales model via a direct-to-consumer platform (77% of Golden Goose sales are made through this channel).

The acquisition is part of a recurring strategy on the part of Chinese groups, which are seeking to capture Western brands with strong storytelling and a significant retail network. For the powerful HongShan group, Golden Goose offers a global platform and an ideal customer base for building a strong Sino-Italian commercial entity that could eventually be reintroduced to the stock market.

For Permira, the sale would generate a significant capital gain: the fund acquired the brand in 2020 at a much lower price (around €1.3 billion) and had already made partial exits (notably with the acquisition of 12% of the capital by Hong Kong-based fund Blue Pool Capital last January).

There are many challenges today: preserving the brand's Venetian artisan DNA, expanding the network of stores, especially in Asia, and planning a gradual move upmarket. Golden Goose was founded in Venice in 2000, thanks to the creativity of Francesca Rinaldo and Alessandro Galdo. The brand has always symbolised the union between Italian craftsmanship and trendy urban style.