Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10639– MAX MARA / MITSUI / MCJ) Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance) 2022/C 102/07
Date: 2022-03-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: clothing industry, economic concentration, merger control, retail selling








C_2022102EN.01001001.xml










2.3.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 102/10






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.10639– MAX MARA / MITSUI / MCJ)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2022/C 102/07)

1.   
On 22 February 2022, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (‘Mitsui’, Japan),










—


Max Mara Fashion Group (‘MMFG’, Italy), belonging to the Max Mara Group,










—


International Fashion Trading S.a.r.l. (‘IFT’, Luxembourg), belonging to the Max Mara Group,










—


Max & Co. Japan Co. Ltd. (‘MCJ’, Japan), controlled by Max Mara Group.




Mitsui will acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of MCJ.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned:






—


Mitsui is a trading, business management and project development company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsui operates worldwide and is active in various sectors, including in the production, distribution and retail activities of apparel,










—


MMFG is an Italian group of companies that manufactures and sells prét-a-porter apparel and accessories at worldwide level. The group owns several brands including Max Mara, Max & Co., Sportmax, Weekend Max Mara, Pennyblack, Marina Rinaldi, Persona, Marella, Emme Marella, iBlues and Intrend,










—


IFT is a Luxemburg-based company ultimately part of the Max Mara Group. The company acts as a trader of Max Mara Fashion Group’s apparel into, among others, the Japanese market,










—


Max & Co. Japan (MCJ) is a Japanese subsidiary of MMFG, active in the retail sale of Max & Co and Marina Rinaldi branded products in Japan. MCJ will be absorbed by Max Mara Japan which is a joint venture company between Mitsui, IFT and MMFG active in the retail sale of Max Mara and Weekend Max Mara branded products in Japan.






3.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.


4.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.10639 – MAX MARA / MITSUI / MCJ
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:
Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu
Fax +32 22964301
Postal address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.