The Lanvin Group jumped onto the Wall Street roller coaster on Thursday — stoning up after which plunging down in its first day of trading — giving chairman and chief executive officer Joann Cheng the next profile and a fresh start as she pushes growth on the luxury house. 

Lanvin accomplished its merger with the Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp. SPAC, putting the corporate onto the Recent York Stock Exchange just as investors generally frightened over disappointing retail sales and wondered just how high the Federal Reserve will ratchet up rates of interest. 

Shortly after the corporate officially modified its name and began trading under the “LANV” ticker symbol, the stock shot up greater than 130 percent to $22.81. However the run-up was short-lived and the stock reversed course dramatically, falling by as much as 53 percent. Lanvin shares closed down 25.6 percent to $7.37 — an indication of the mixed-up times on Wall Street. 

It was a troublesome day for Lanvin to get its start. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.3 percent, or 764.13, to 33,202.22.

In an interview, conducted shortly after Cheng rang the exchange’s famous opening bell and while the stock was still rushing higher, the chief told WWD the corporate was getting a recent start and had plenty of growth potential.  

 “We raised greater than $150 million in fresh money,” she said. “So it’s enough for our operations, for the present brands to maneuver towards profitability.” 

Along with Lanvin, the group owns Wolford, Sergio Rossi, St. John Knits and Caruso, and has plans so as to add more stores and product categories while also sharpening its digital chops. 

A significant shareholder can also be converting a loan into equity, leaving the corporate debt-free. 

“It’s a recent start for us for a recent journey,” Cheng said. “It gives us superb momentum despite the fact that we’re in a really tough macro market.” 

The move onto Wall Street gives the Shanghai-based Lanvin more exposure within the U.S. and a recent sort of currency — its own shares — because it seeks to herald recent talent, buy additional brands and expand.  

Outside of St. John’s Knits, which has an enormous U.S. base, the CEO said the U.S. represents just 15 percent of the corporate’s revenues, while China accounts for less than 10 percent. 

“You may see that within the two largest luxury consumption countries, our brands’ penetration rate is comparatively low,” Cheng said. “This can be a growth opportunity for us.”

Lanvin, which logged growth of 73 percent in the primary half to sales of 202 million euros, is considering greater. First, to get annual revenues into the 10-digit range, after which keep going. 

“Our dream of the long run is unlimited,” Cheng said, laying out a really straightforward path to attain those dreams. “The whole lot depends upon our day-to-day operations, how we drive the expansion of the present brands. Then get the brands to profitability, pull the money, reinvest into the brands or recent brands. Currently there’s a lot low-hanging fruit because our retail footprint is sort of limited. So we shouldn’t stop opening recent stores to get more touch points with our customers. However the digital channel is, in parallel, one other key focus.”

Because the direct-to-consumer business grows, she said Lanvin can be less reliant on wholesale. 

That’s consistent with the final trend in luxury — a sector dominated by giants like LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Kering which have built real scale by harnessing the ability of heritage brands by giving them a high-luxury sheen and updating them for brand new generations. 

Cheng, along with her own portfolio of heritage luxury brands, is covering among the same territory and keeping track of their approach.

“There are large groups with mature brands, also they are being very progressive,” she said. “I feel I should learn from them. There’s a reason why they’re doing well, right? So, for instance, every brand is driven by social media, focused on digital channels. That’s the progressive way.” 

Cheng desires to very much “respect the DNA, respect the heritage” of the corporate’s brands and serve long-standing loyal customers while also bringing in younger shoppers.  

At Lanvin, as an example, meaning maintaining the brand’s “Parisian elegance” with tailored evening pieces and likewise applying among the components of that elegance to more casual pieces.  

It’s a trick Cheng wants to tug off at other brands as well. 

But while public firms with a portfolio approach can fall into the trap of promising big growth and counting on acquisitions to fuel the gains — inevitably cutting a bunch of bad deals in the method — Cheng has a measured approach.

“We’re increase a pipeline for future acquisitions, but truthfully we’re not in a rush,” she said. “Lanvin Group will not be a PE fund or investment institution. We just need to be a fashion group. Eighty [or] 90 percent of the expansion is coming from organic growth of the present brands and only 10 percent possibly coming from future acquisitions.” 

As Cheng looks at dealmaking, she’ll be seeking to diversify the portfolio to avoid relying an excessive amount of on a single product category or simply one sort of customer. 

While much of the plan comes straight out of the usual luxury playbook, Cheng is giving all of it her spin and never charging out to tackle the giants. 

“We’re young,” she said of the corporate. “We’re five years old, so I never compete with a big giant group. We just need to be ourselves. Despite the fact that we’ve got all these beautiful heritage brands with greater than 50 years … greater than 100 years, we’re a start-up. We must always have a mentality of being a start-up company. Meaning being progressive and sometimes being disruptive.” 

Now, that disruption — Lanvin style — will come under the glare of Wall Street.