Prada aims to hire more than 400 people in Italy by the end of the year to strengthen its production capacity and maintain growth, the Italian luxury group said on Thursday.

The startup is known for a material that combines recycled leather with polyester fibres.

With sales of luxury goods widely expected to withstand the darkening economic outlook and Chinese demand enjoying a post-Covid reopening boost, the sector appears ripe for a mergers & acquisitions wave, according to an informal Bloomberg survey of 17 M&A desks, fund managers and analysts.

Operating profit in the Swedish group’s fiscal first quarter was 725 million Swedish crowns ($69.73 million) against a profit of 458 million crowns a year earlier and a mean forecast of 1.10 billion loss in a Refinitiv poll of analysts.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company’s breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually launch their own initial public offerings (IPO).

Forma Brands, the bankrupt owner of the Morphe makeup brand, reached an agreement with lenders Jefferies Finance LLC and Cerberus Capital Management to be acquired in exchange for $690 million in debt relief, according to a court filing.

Macy’s Inc chief executive officer Jeff Gennette will retire next year after four decades with the U.S. department store chain, the company said on Wednesday and named insider Tony Spring as his successor.

Target has tapped Agua Bendita, a Colombian label known for its bold floral prints, Fe Noel, a Brooklyn-born brand with Grenadian roots, and Los Angeles-based Rhode, which is synonymous with printed dresses, as its latest designer collaboration partners.