LVMH

In the 1980s, French investor Bernard Arnault had the idea to create a group of luxury brands.[9] He worked with Alain Chevalier, CEO of Moët Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton, to form LVMH.[10] Their successful integration of various famous aspirational brands into a single group inspired other luxury companies to do the same. Thus, the French conglomerate Kering and the Swiss-based Richemont have also created extended portfolios of luxury brands. LVMH is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[11]

Make Up For Ever was established in 1984,[12] and was acquired by LVMH in 1999.[13]

On 7 March 2011, LVMH announced the acquisition of the 50.4% family-owned shares of the Italian jeweller Bulgari and the intention to make a tender offer for the rest, which was publicly owned.[14] The transaction was about $5.2 billion.[15]

By 2012, LVMH established LCapitalAsia, a continuation of its private-equity arm, focused in Asia.[16] In 2012, the growth of LVMH's sales "decreased by about 10 percent from the growth rate in 2011", and in early 2013 LVMH expressed that it would "stop opening stores in second and third-tier cities in mainland China".[16] Xue Shengwen, a senior researcher at ChinaVenture, said the developing trend of young people is to take advantage of more acceptable prices.[16] On 7 March 2013, National Business Daily reported that mid-priced clothing brand QDA would open its first store in Beijing, as a co-investment of LVMH's private equity LCapitalAsia and the Chinese apparel company Xin Hee Co., Ltd.[16]

In February 2014, LVMH entered into a joint venture with the Italian fashion brand Marco De Vincenzo, taking a minority 45% stake in the firm.[17][18]

In April 2017, LVMH announced it would gain ownership of Christian Dior haute couture, leather, men's and women's ready-to-wear, and footwear lines, to integrate the entire Christian Dior brand within its luxury group.[19]

In January 2018, LVMH announced record sales of 42.6 billion euros in 2017, up 13% over the previous year, as all divisions turned in strong performances. In the same year, the net profit increased 29%.[20]

On 1 November 2018, co-founder Alain Chevalier died at age 87.[21]

On 12 May 2019 the fashion house Fenty, styled as FEИTY, created by singer Rihanna was launched by LVMH in Paris. It is the first new fashion house by LVMH in 32 years and she is the first woman of colour to head a brand under LVMH.[22][23]

On 15 July 2019, LVMH announced a new partnership to further develop the Stella McCartney House.[24]

On 29 November 2019, LVMH announced its 55% stake in Château d’Esclans, the producer best-known for the brand Whispering Angel.[25] The acquisition was part of LVMH's move to offer a beloved high-end rosé portfolio, in addition to reaching customers worldwide.[26][27]

In November 2019, LVMH planned to acquire Tiffany & Co. for approximately US $16.2 billion. The deal was expected to close by June 2020.[28] LVMH issued a statement in September 2020 indicating that the takeover would not proceed, and that the deal was "invalid" because of Tiffany's handling of the business during the COVID-19 pandemic.[29] Subsequently, Tiffany filed suit against LVMH, asking the court to compel the purchase or to assess damages against the defendant; LVMH planned to counter sue, alleging that mismanagement had invalidated the purchase agreement.[30]

In mid-September 2020, a reliable source told Forbes that the reason for Arnault's decision to cancel the Tiffany purchase was purely financial: because Tiffany was paying millions in dividends to shareholders despite a financial loss of US$32 million during the pandemic. Some US$70 million had already been paid out by Tiffany, with an additional US$70 million scheduled to be paid in November 2020.[31] LVMH filed a counterclaim against the court action commenced by Tiffany; a statement issued by LMVH blamed Tiffany's mismanagement during the pandemic and claimed that it was 'burning cash and reporting losses'".[32]

In late October 2020 Tiffany and LVMH agreed to the original takeover plan, though at a slightly reduced price of nearly $16 billion, a minor reduction of 2.6% from the aforementioned deal. The new deal reduced the amount paid per share by LVMH from the original price of $135 to $131.50.[33] LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany in January 2021.[34]

In January 2022, LVMH acquired a minority stake in the New York-based label Aimé Leon Dore for an undisclosed sum. The investment was made through the conglomerate's LVMH Luxury Ventures arm.[35]

As of late 2020, LVMH has the largest market capitalization in France,[36] and also in the Eurozone with a record of 261 billion euros ($317.6 billion).[37] As of December 2020, Arnault's own fortune was nearly half that, with a personal net worth of $151.7 billion.[38]

In March 2022, LVMH announced closure of its 120+ stores in Russia, “given the current circumstances in the region,”[39] due to the Russo-Ukrainian War. An LVMH spokesperson stated the company would continue to pay salary and benefits to its 3,500 employees in Russia.[39]

LVMH is headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.[4]

The company is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange,[40] and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index.

As of 2010, the group had revenues of €20.3 billion with a net income of just over €3 billion.[41] In 2013, with revenue of $21.7 billion, LVMH was ranked first luxury goods company in Deloitte's "Global Powers of Luxury Goods" report.[42] By 29 February 2016, the company had a share value of 78,126 million euros, distributed in 506,980,299 shares.

As of 2009, the group employed more than 83,000 people,[41] 30 percent of LVMH's staff worked in France, and LVMH operated over 2,400 stores worldwide.[43]

A partial list including some of LVMH's best-known brands and subsidiaries:[43][49]

Launched in 2011, Journées Particulières is an bi-annual event which allows visitors to enter the various ateliers, studios, caves, and mansions owned by LVMH, for free.

For the first edition we were not at all certain that the public would come. I speak about that with some emotion. I remember coming along avenue Montaigne at 8AM that first morning and seeing hundreds of people, families, elderly ladies and little kids waiting for the doors of avenue Montaigne 30 to open and I thought we are going to write a beautiful page in history.

— Antoine Arnault, referring to Christian Dior's headquarters[50]

It is staged every two years, and has opened doors in France, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, with 56 brands welcoming guests into over 70 sites on four continents. The 2017 issue attracted 145,000 visitors.[50]

On 24 May 2018, LVMH launched an e-commerce initiative by investing in online fashion search business Lyst, as a way for LVMH's luxury brands to expand their presence online and capture younger shoppers.[69] LVMH contributed to Lyst's $60 million funding round, which also included access to LVMH's international expertise, designed to drive Lyst's global expansion.[70]

• Estée Lauder Companies
• Richemont
• Kering
• Luxottica

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• Official website
• Marques de LVMH classées par secteurs d'activités