F-NEWS Editor's Pick
The empire of desire
FRANCE’S tradition of making exquisite luxuries dates back at least to the court of Louis XIV. The sun king financed ébénistes(cabinet-makers), tapisseurs(upholsterers), menuisiers (carpenters) and other artisans who made beautiful and largely useless things for the court of Versailles. Bernard Arnault might be his heir.
Mr Arnault is the chairman, chief executive and controlling shareholder of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world’s largest luxury group. Over the past quarter-century he has transformed a small, nearly defunct clothing manufacturer into a conglomerate that controls more than 60 luxury brands. Credit Suisse, a bank, predicts that LVMH’s combined sales will reach €27 billion ($33 billion) this year. Its profits in 2011 were €3.5 billion and its market capitalisation is a cork-popping €62 billion. LVMH is more profitable than other luxury groups.
“LVMH is like a mini Germany,” boasts an insider. Like that country’s Mittelstand, it has built a reputation for craftsmanship and quality that people are happy to pay extra for. The difference is, the Mittelstand makes unsexy things such as machine tools and shaving brushes, whereas LVMH makes champagne, handbags and other objects of desire
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Mr Arnault is the chairman, chief executive and controlling shareholder of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world’s largest luxury group. Over the past quarter-century he has transformed a small, nearly defunct clothing manufacturer into a conglomerate that controls more than 60 luxury brands. Credit Suisse, a bank, predicts that LVMH’s combined sales will reach €27 billion ($33 billion) this year. Its profits in 2011 were €3.5 billion and its market capitalisation is a cork-popping €62 billion. LVMH is more profitable than other luxury groups.
“LVMH is like a mini Germany,” boasts an insider. Like that country’s Mittelstand, it has built a reputation for craftsmanship and quality that people are happy to pay extra for. The difference is, the Mittelstand makes unsexy things such as machine tools and shaving brushes, whereas LVMH makes champagne, handbags and other objects of desire
Continue Reading »
