Victoria's Secret supplier becomes billionaire

04 Dec '15

3 min read

Hung Yau Lit, chairman of the world's biggest bra-maker Regina Miracle International Holdings, can thank Victoria's Secret for his newly minted fortune, according to an agency report.

Hung's fortune rose to $1.1 billion (HK $1.5 billion) as lingerie supplier Regina Miracle International Holdings has soared since its October initial public offering, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Shenzhen-based supplier for top brands such as Victoria's Secret and Calvin Klein Inc. has surged 71 per cent since its debut on the Hong Kong exchange on October 8. 53-year-old Hung, 53, owns 885 million shares, or 72 per cent of the company.

"Globally, only suppliers of Victoria's Secret would be big enough to go public," said Jackson Yu, an analyst at RHB OSK Securities Hong Kong.

"Victoria's Secret is pretty innovative in fabric and styles, and its delivery cycle is quicker than other traditional brands. The requirement for suppliers is also higher, so it's not easy to be a supplier" to the brand.

Regina Miracle t reported a 43 per cent growth in net profit for the six months ended September 30.

Revenue rose 26 per cent to HK$2.5 billion ($323.8 million) from a year earlier, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday. The company reported revenue of HK$4.2 billion in the year ended March 31, 2015, according to its IPO prospectus.

Regina Miracle generates 35 per cent of its sales from Victoria's Secret parent company, L Brands Inc., according to a note by BOC International Holdings Ltd. analysts Candy Huang and Jamie Shen.

It also produces footwear and running shoes for brands including Armour and Reebok. Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder of L Brands, has increased his fortune 7.7 per cent this year to $8.3 billion.
Hung first set up the predecessor of Regina Miracle in 1985 as a manufacturer of shoulder pads.

As the global demand for the product declined in the late 1990s, he changed his business focus to intimate-wear manufacturing, according to the IPO prospectus, adding L Brands as a client 15 years ago.

The company now manufactures 1 per cent of the world's lingerie, making it the world's largest bra maker in terms of production volume, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan in 2014. It produced a total of 58.7 million pieces of bras and panties the year ended March 2015, according to the IPO prospectus. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk - India