History

OVS was founded in 1972, initially as "Magazzini Oviesse ", a division of Coin S.p.A. active in the management of department stores. The '70s and '80s saw the development of the model store with sales of apparel; goods’ variety was expanded with the introduction of household items, sporting goods, toys, perfumes and leather goods.

In 1999, to expand its presence throughout Italy, Gruppo Coin purchased the non-food chain, “La Standa”. It includes over 160 stores which over the next few years were converted to OVS. In July 1999, Gruppo Coin ordinary shares were listed on the MTA.

In 2005, Gruppo Coin transferred the business unit consisting of the activities of today's OVS to to the newly formed company Oviesse S.r.l a wholly owned subsidiary of Gruppo Coin S.p.A. subsequently transformed into Oviesse S.p.A. In May 2005, the investment funds managed by the French company PAI Partners S.A.S. acquired through the company Financière Tintoretto S.A., a controlling share in Gruppo Coin from Finanziaria Coin S.r.l., a company in the Coin family. .

In December 2008, Oviesse S.p.A. acquired 100% of the share capital in Tre.bi S.p.A., owner of the Melablu apparel chain with over 60 stores, mainly in shopping centres in Northwest Italy which. Following the acquisition they were converted to OVS stores. In January 2010, Gruppo Coin acquired 100% of the share capital in Upim S.r.l., one of the leading brands in the apparel retail industry with 135 directly managed stores all over Italy, under the UPIM brand, 15 stores under BluKids brand and a network of over 200 franchised stores run as franchises.

In January 2010 Gruppo Coin acquired 100% of the share capital of Upim S.r.l., Italian leader in the clothing industry, active in the country with 135 directly operated stores under the brand UPIM and 15 stores under the brand BluKids, in addition to a network managed franchise with more than 200 stores.

In June 2011, Icon S.p.A., a company controlled by BC Partners private equity funds, acquired the controlling stake in Gruppo Coin from the main shareholder, Financière Tintoretto S.A.. From September, as a result of the completion of the compulsory IPO promoted by Icon S.p.A. on the remaining outstanding shares, ordinary shares of Gruppo Coin were delisted from MTA.

In December 2011 Oviesse S.p.A. acquired from Unitessile S.p.A. the business unit selling kids clothing and items branded “IANA” IANA the business line of clothing and children's items branded "IANA" with 397 outlets, including 45 directly operated and over 150 franchised stores. During the first half of 2012, the retail network previously branded "IANA" was mainly converted to the OVS Kids and BluKids formats.

In August 2012, continuing on its path to consolidate its leadership in the apparel market and in line with the strategy shared by the majority shareholder - private equity fundsBC Partners - Gruppo Coin acquired over 100 stores from the Bernardi chain, a major clothing retailer. Some stores were converted to OVS stores, while the majority were integrated into the UPIM business unit.

In January 2013 the merger by incorporation of the subsidiary companies Oviesse S.p.A., Coin S.p.A., Upim S.r.l., Oviesse Franchising S.p.A. and Coin Franchising S.p.A. into Gruppo Coin S.p.A. became effective. Following this corporate reorganisation, Gruppo Coin S.p.A. became the parent company of Gruppo Coin.

In April 2014, Gruppo Coin began a corporate reorganisation project to carve out the business unit consisting of the “OVS-UPIM division” which from 1 August 2014, was assigned to the company OVS S.p.A.

OVS S.p.A. was listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.

Tamburi Investment Partners S.p.A. signed an agreement with Gruppo Coin S.p.A. for the acquisition of the entire stake held by the latter in OVS S.p.A., equal to 17.835%. As a result of the above, TIP, already shareholder of OVS with an equity interest of approximately 4.912%, achieves an overall stake of around 22.747% of the share capital of OVS.

In 2021 the OVS SpA Group acquires the Stefanel brand.