Champagne brand
Moet, Christian Dior, Dom Perignon, Louis Vuitton – these popular brands of
luxury goods are the creations of a man named Bernard Arnault.
Arnault took up
engineering at Eole Polyttechnic in France, because he was to take over
Ferret-Savinel, his family’s construction business. During the political
disorder, when the socialists came to power in 1981, Arnault moved his family
to Palm Beach, Florida and continued his family’s construction business there.
After the
political atmosphere became more stable in France, he bought the distressed
textile company Boussac, owner of the brand Christian Dior, for $15 million. He
sold the divisions in Boussac that have nothing to do with his luxury goods.
Eventually,
Arnault purchased the controlling interest in LVMH. He shifted from traditional
fashion trends to more creative ones to capture the luxury market.
Soon, Arnault
also purchased other luxury lines like Givenchy, TAG Heuer and Sephora.
With a slumping
market, Arnault realized that the demand for luxury goods was not as high as he
thought it was. Some of Arnault’s brands struggled to earn so he had to
downsize some stores. However, Arnault was not fazed by the financial decline
and continue to hold some of the most popular and sought-after luxury brands in
the industry.
Arnault is the richest
man in France, and is fourth in
Forbes’ list of world’s billionaires.
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