LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (French pronunciation: ), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton (founded in 1854) with Moët Hennessy, which was established after the 1971 merger between the champagne producer Moët & Chandon (founded in 1743) and the cognac producer Hennessy (founded in 1765). LVMH controls around 60 subsidiaries that each manage a small number of prestigious brands, 75 in total. The subsidiaries are often managed independently, under the umbrellas of six branches: Fashion Group, Wines and Spirits, Perfumes and Cosmetics, Watches and Jewelry, Selective Distribution, and Other Activities. The oldest of the LVMH brands is wine producer Château d’Yquem, which dates its origins back to 1593.
History
In the 1990s, Bernard Arnault had the idea to create a group of luxury brands. Arnault’s 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. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50stock market index.
Make Up For Ever was established in 1984, and was acquired by LVMH in 1999.
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. The transaction was about $5.2 billion. In 2011, LVMH invested $640 million in establishing LCapitalAsia.
On 7 March 2013, National Business Daily reported that mid-priced clothing brand QDA would open stores with the assistance of LVMH’s private equity LCapitalAsia and the Chinese apparel company Xin Hee Co., Ltd. in Beijing. In 2011, LVMH invested $640 million in establishing LCapitalAsia. LVMH sales “decreased by about 10 percent from in 2011” in China, and LVMH stopped “opening stores in second and third-tier cities in mainland China”. Xue Shengwen, a senior researcher at ChinaVenture, said the developing trend of the market is to take advantage of more acceptable prices.
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.
In April 2017, LVMH announced it would gain ownership of Christian Dior haute couture, leather, both men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, and footwear lines, to integrate the entire Christian Dior brand within its luxury group.
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%.
Co-founder Alain Chevalier died 1 November 2018, aged 87.
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.
On 15 July 2019, LVMH announced a new partnership to further develop the Stella McCartney House.
On 29 November 2019, LVMH announced its 55% stake in Château d’Esclans, the producer best-known for the brand Whispering Angel. The acquisition was part of LVMH’s move to offer a beloved high-end rosé portfolio, in addition to reaching customers worldwide.
In November 2019, LVMH planned to acquire Tiffany & Co. for approximately US $16.2 billion. The deal was expected to close by June 2020. 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.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. In mid-September 2020, a reliable source told Forbes (magazine) 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. 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'”. 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. LVMH completed the purchase of Tiffany in January 2021.
LVMH has the largest market capitalization in France, and now in the Euro zone, with a record of 261 billion euros ($317.6 billion) as of December 31, 2020. As of December 2020, Arnault’s own fortune was nearly half that, with a personal net worth of $151.7 billion.
Corporate structure
LVMH is headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The company is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange, 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. By 29 February 2016, the company had a share value of 78,126 million euros, distributed in 506,980,299 shares. In 2013, with revenue of $21.7 billion, LVMH was ranked first luxury goods company in Deloitte’s “Global Powers of Luxury Goods” report. The group currently employs more than 83,000 people. Thirty percent of LVMH’s staff work in France. LVMH operates over 2,400 stores worldwide. Its current business plan aims to tightly control the brands it manages in order to maintain and heighten the perception of luxury relating to their products. For example, Louis Vuitton products are sold only through Louis Vuitton boutiques found in upmarket locations in wealthy cities or in concessions in other luxury goods shops (such as Harrods in London).
At the end of 2017, the only declared major shareholder in LVMH was Arnault Family Group, the holding company of Bernard Arnault. The group’s control amounted to 46.84% of LVMH’s stock and 63.13% of its voting rights.
LVMH holds 66% of the drinks division, Moët Hennessy, with the remaining 34% held by Diageo.
Christian Dior SE is the main holding company of LVMH, owning 40.9% of its shares, and 59.01% of its voting rights. Bernard Arnault is Chairman and CEO of both companies.In 2017, Arnault purchased all the remaining Christian Dior shares in a reported $13.1 billion buy out.
Subsidiaries
A partial list including some of LVMH’s best-known brands and subsidiaries:
- Conglomerates owned – Christian Dior
|
|
|
|
|
|
Journées Particulières
Launched in 2011, Journées Particulières allow visitors to enter scores of ateliers, studios, caves and mansions within the LVMH, with no admission charge.
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
said Arnault, referring to Christian Dior’s headquarters. 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.
Charity
LVMH is a major patron of art in France. The group supported about ten exhibitions as “Le grand monde d’Andy Warhol” and “Picasso et les maîtres” at le Grand Palais in Paris. LVMH also endorsed the patronage of “l’atelier d’Alberto Giacometti” and “Yves Klein” at Centre Georges Pompidou.
Since 2005, when the LVMH flagship store opened in Paris at 3, avenue George V, 75008, the company presented close collaboration with contemporary artists. Features included a light sculpture by American James Turrell, a 20-metre (65 feet) long “travelling staircase” showcasing the work of American video artist Tim White-Sobieski and an elevator linking the store to the top floor by Iceland’s Olafur Eliasson.
In 2006, gallery space was inaugurated on the second floor of the same building and named “Espace Culturel”. “Icônes” was one of the first exhibitions. Shigeru Ban, Sylvie Fleury, Zaha Hadid, Bruno Peinado, Andrée Putman, Ugo Rondinone, James Turrell, Tim White-Sobieski and Robert Wilson were the nine artists invited by Louis Vuitton to participate in it.
In addition, LVMH foundation created the “young creators LVMH award”, an international competition opened to French and international beaux-arts students. Each year, six grants are allocated to the winners.
In November 2013, LVMH created the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize, which comes with a €300,000 grant with a year of mentoring and is the brainchild of Delphine Arnault. The first winner has been chosen in 2014.-In February 2014 20 finalist for the prize were shown in London, such as Simone Rocha, Thomas Tait, Meadham Kirchhoff, Marques’Almeida, J JS Lee, and others. In May 2015 Marques’Almeida was announced as the second winner.
LVMH underwrites other fashion competitions, including the Andam prize in France, the International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères, France, an investment fund for young designers created by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, and a scholarship program and sponsored lecture theater at Central Saint Martins in London.
The group also lends Stradivarius violins to young talented musicians. Maxim Vengerov and Laurent Korcia have used the instruments.
In 2014, LVMH opened the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Creation in a new building designed by Frank Gerry in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. The Fondation is designed the Group’s own museum to present its collections and organize majors world-class arts exhibitions.
On 26 August 2019, Bernard Arnault has declared that LVMH will donate $11 million to help fight the 2019 Brazil wildfires.
During the COVID-19 crisis the group shifted its production of perfume and spirits towards hand sanitizer. This production of 12 tons has been offered to hospitals in Paris, France.
E-commerce
On 24 May 2018, LVMH made the e-commerce push by investing in an online fashion search business Lyst as the world’s biggest luxury brands to expand their presence online and capture younger shoppers. It is injecting over $60 million into Lyst where LVMH is leading, a $60 million funding round to which it has contributed about 45 percent. Lyst plans to use the new funding by tapping LVMH’s deep international expertise and also, to drive global expansion.
Financial data
| Financial data (in million euros) | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 15,306 | 16,481 | 17,193 | 17,053 | 20,320 | 23,659 | 28,103 | 29,016 | 30,638 | 35,664 | 37,600 | 42,636 |
| Net profit (before minority interests) | 2,160 | 2,331 | 2,318 | 1,973 | 3,032 | 3,065 | 3,909 | 3,947 | 6,105 | 4,001 | 4,363 | 5,616 |
| Total equity | 11,594 | 12,528 | 13,887 | 14,785 | 18,204 | 23,512 | 25,666 | 27,907 | 23,003 | 25,799 | 27,903 | 30,260 |