August 17th, 2009
LVMH has bought a 50% stake in St-Emilion’s Château Cheval Blanc from its billionaire chairman and controlling shareholder, Bernard Arnault.
However financial terms were not disclosed in the release, which pointedly failed to mention that LVMH was acquiring the Bordeaux wine from Arnault.
Arnault, reputedly France’s richest man, bought Cheval-Blanc with Belgian businessman Albert Frère in 1998 for a reported €155m.
July 28th, 2009
France’s LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group, on Monday reported a 23% profit drop for the first six months of 2009 to €687 million ($977 million).
But the company’s turnover edged up 0.2% from the same time last year to €7.81 billion ($11.1 billion) despite a sharp drop in sales of drinks and jewellery.
Watches and jewelry sector posted 73 percent drop in profit, and wines and spirits sectors fell 41 percent.
June 12th, 2009
China may become the world’s biggest luxury market in some years but cultural challenges to win customers’ hearts for certain types of products remain, industry executives said this week.
Champagne house Taittinger said it could make high-end sparkling wine in China but the market was not ready for it yet…
… while Lamborghini said the country’s tradition of luxury chauffeurs, bigger than sports driving, made expansion there a challenge.
June 2nd, 2009
Beginning June 15, 2009, Google is relaxing its policy on use of trademarks in ad copy text.
In the past, Google has restricted the use of brand names in ad text and was willing to take action to prevent it which allowed you to authorize specific resellers to use your brand while restricting the remainder of the market.
Now Google will allow previously disapproved ads to run on Google.com and the content network in the USA, without the need for approval by the trademark owner.
May 15th, 2009
LVMH, the world’s leading luxury products group has completed a minority investment in Edun, the ethical fashion company owned by Ali Hewson and her husband Bono, U2 lead singer and activist.
Edun is a brand of socially conscious fashion for men and women.
The Company’s mission is to create beautiful clothing and sustainable trade with partners in the developing world.
April 22nd, 2009
Luxury goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton has denied it is in negotiations to sell wines and spirits division Moët Hennessy.
A report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper suggested that liquor company Diageo was considering a €12bn ($15.5bn) takeover of LVMH’s drinks arm, which includes brands such as Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon, Krug and Veuve Clicquot champagnes, Hennessy cognac and Glenmorangie Scotch whisky.
Diageo’s links with LVMH go back 22 years, when Guinness - one of the groups which went to create Diageo - struck up a joint venture.
