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Bernard Arnault

Delphine Arnault's new Louis Vuitton role

June 26, 2013

French luxury goods group LVMH has announced Delphine Arnault will take a top role at Louis Vuitton – one of the largest luxury brands in the world.

Her father, Bernard Arnault, is the chairman and chief executive of LVMH and the wealthiest person in France. The group is responsible for 60 luxury brands that span fashion, watches and champagne.

Arnault, 38, currently works as deputy general manager at Dior – the majority shareholder in LVMH – but will take up her new post in September. Her new position will be similar to her role at Dior.

LVMH in the picture

May 1, 2013

Luxury goods giant LVMH is sponsoring the digital restoration of classic 1960s French film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Luxury goods giant LVMH is sponsoring the digital restoration of classic 1960s French film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film (a still from the film, pictured), which was directed by Jacques Demy in 1964 and starred Catherine Deneuve, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1964. It was nominated for five Oscars.

LVMH says the move is part of its commitment to the cultural and creative heritage of France and Europe.

Arnault gives up citizenship bid, blasts French business culture

April 11, 2013

Bernard Arnault, second-gen chief executive of LVMH and France's richest man, has withdrawn his application for Belgian citizenship following continued accusations that he was trying to avoid the new 75% tax levied on incomes of more than €1 million.

"I explained several times that I would remain a resident in France and that I would continue to pay my taxes there. In vain – the message did not get through," Arnault told French newspaper Le Monde in an interview on 10 April.

It's not tax-dodging, it's protecting the family business: Arnault's citizenship plans

January 25, 2013

Bernard Arnault’s complicated fiscal dealings in Belgium are all designed to keep luxury goods giant LVMH well under the Arnault family's control and not to avoid France’s proposed 75% super-tax, according to the company.

The response from LVMH came as the patriarch of French industry again faced attack from the French public after further details of his financial plans and efforts to gain Belgian citizenship were revealed.

France, family and feuds

September 6, 2012

Families will feud. They will feud between themselves and with other families. These feuds can get pretty nasty, and when there’s money and power involved the nastiness often gets aired in public.

So it is with two of France’s most powerful families – the 70-plus family members behind Hermes and the Arnaults, or more specifically, the patriarch, Bernard Arnault. Arnault and his family control more than 40% of the world’s biggest luxury products business, LVMH.

Latest billionaires list boasts family business wealth

March 8, 2012

The top 20 richest people in the world are collectively worth $634 billion (€479 billion) and over half owe their fortunes to family businesses.

That’s according to the latest Forbes billionaires list, released on 7 March, which showed that 14 of the top 20 on the list had family-controlled groups responsible for their wealth.

Family business head eyes up €350 million stores

December 10, 2011

When you’re the head of a luxury conglomerate like LVMH, there’s a certain upmarket reputation to uphold. So it’s of little wonder that chief executive Bernard Arnault is reportedly in talks to buy property on London’s exclusive Bond Street.

The family business is looking at a trio of shops on the street, including its flagshop Louis Vuitton store at 17-20 Bond Street, according to reports.

LVMH acquires Singapore’s crocodile leather family business

October 13, 2011

LVMH’s Arnault family has taken majority control of Heng Long, the crocodile leather supplier owned by the Koh family, in what is the luxury goods company’s second purchase this year of a top-end family business.

Paris-based LVMH, chaired by Bernard Arnault, said in a statement that it will own 51% of Heng Long, while the founding Koh family will reduce its stake to 49% from its earlier 74% ownership of the Singapore-based company.

LVMH announces Jordi Constans as Louis Vuitton CEO

September 15, 2011

Jordi Constans is set to join family business LVMH as the chief executive of the luxury group’s flagship brand Louis Vuitton.

Constans, previously executive vice-president of fresh dairy products at French yoghurt company Danone, will take over from Yves Carcelle - credited with turning Louis Vuitton into a globally recognisable brand.

Ferragamo results confirm family business boom in luxury

August 30, 2011

The luxury sector continues to be highly profitable for the family businesses operating within it with the latest results from top shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo confirming the boom.