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Italian fashion house Versace plans to build 15 luxury resorts around the world in its latest effort to woo the super-rich, its CEO said today.
Under an agreement with Australian property developer Sunland Group, Versace will design and furnish the 7-star hotels, which will all be modelled along its historic headquarters in Milan.
Versace already owns a hotel on Australia's Gold Coast.
Versace chief executive Giancarlo Di Risio has overseen a comeback from a loss-making group with a messy mix of labels to a sleeker, profitable luxury brand with a focus on exclusive products for the very wealthy.
"The hotels close the circle of super-luxury: clothing, yachts, private jets, and now resorts," he said.
Mr Di Risio declined to say how much Versace stands to gain from the hotel deal.
But the first in the series will open in Dubai in 2009, offering guests a swimming pool with live exotic fish and specially cooled sand.
Versace made its name as a label of choice for publicity hungry celebrities, mad for the revealing dresses in shock colours that were a hallmark of designer-founder Gianni Versace.
But after Versace was murdered in the 1990s and his sister Donatella took over, the company floundered and came close to bankruptcy.
- REUTERS
