MILAN — The Ruffini family’s investment vehicle Archive Srl has made its second acquisition in the fashion space after The Attico.
The company said Friday it has acquired a minority stake in Copenhagen-based technical cycling apparel brand Pas Normal Studios.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but according to market sources the investment firm nabbed between 20 and 25 percent of the Danish company.
“Pas Normal Studios is an example of strong entrepreneurial vision that has been able to successfully evolve the brand beyond the sector’s traditional codes. We are happy to support Pas Normal Studios in its development journey and above all in the ambitious plan to redefine modern cycling by building a strong brand,” said Pietro Ruffini, chief executive officer of Archive Srl, and the son of Moncler’s chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini.
Archive Srl, helmed by Pietro Ruffini and managing director Stefano Marcovaldi, is an investment company controlled by Ou(r) Group, one of the two holding companies of the Ruffini family. The other family holding company is Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding, which controls a 15.8 percent stake in Moncler, through Double R.
“Over the past nine years we grew from a successful start-up to a successful business, challenging the existing cycling market by focusing on creative design, uncompromising functionality, and a global diverse community,” said Pas Normal Studios’ cofounders Peter Lange and Karl-Oskar Olsen in a statement. “We are now proud to have entered in a unique partnership with Archive to further support our journey and ambitions. Their knowledge and experience are extremely inspiring and will be valuable for the whole organization.”
Founded in 2014, Pas Normal Studios has embedded innovation, a fashion-forward design and brand collaborations in its offering of high-performance technical gear aimed at the cycling world. It operates seven flagships in Copenhagen; Munich; Mallorca, Spain; San Francisco; Seoul; Singapore, and Taipei, Taiwan. Lange serves as CEO, while Olsen holds the role of creative director.
This marks the fourth investment for Archive overall and the second in the fashion sphere.
The company acquired a 49 percent interest in womenswear brand The Attico, founded in 2016 by Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, in 2018. As reported, the brand posted revenues above 30 million euros in 2023, up from 27 million euros in 2022. That was swift growth from revenues of 5 million euros in 2018, the year Archive made its investment.
It was followed by the acquisition of a minority interest of 40 percent in Langosteria Holding Srl, which operates the tony seafood restaurants first opened in Milan in 2007 by Enrico Buonocore. The company currently operates seven restaurants in key destinations in Europe, as well as upcoming units in London and Miami.
Pietro Ruffini
Federico Lomartire/WWD
In 2023, Archive Srl acquired a 47.5 percent in Concettina ai Tre Santi, a cult and storied pizza restaurant in Naples, Italy.
“Archive’s mandate is to try and build over the next 20 years a portfolio of brands and creative languages aimed at the new generation,” Marcovaldi told WWD in an interview late last year commenting on the growth trajectory of The Attico. “Currently we are investing in and supporting the development of brands that, in our view, are defining the language, experience and product codes in a modern way,” the executive said at the time.
