PARIS (Reuters) – French luxury goods group Kering is looking at possible mergers and acquisitions seriously, but M&A is not indispensable for its future growth, Chairman and Chief Executive Francois-Henri Pinault said on Wednesday.

Pinault said his group was in a strong position, both in term of financial bandwidth and know-how, to potentially acquire and integrate a big target if the right opportunity arose, although he added that the priority for now was to focus on organic growth.

Asked about recurring rumours that Kering could be eyeing a tie-up with Swiss rival Richemont, Pinault told reporters: “It’s a group that we know well, it’s one of our partners that gave us a licence for their eyewear so we are in regular contact. But it’s a group that is controlled by a family, as is Kering, and there is nothing else on this matter.”

(Reporting by Sarah White and Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Jon Boyle)