LVMH’s latest icon

“Tiffany is an American icon and was on the list of brands for a long time. We thought was a good potential match,” said LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault of his group’s acquisition in November of Tiffany & Company. The US$16.2 billion deal is the largest ever in the luxury sector. “The acquisition will give LVMH a bigger foothold in the United States, as well as help Tiffany in Europe and China. It will also cement the status of Bernard Arnault… as the most acquisitive deal maker in the luxury business,” The New York Times declared. “Some analysts expect the announcement to trigger other deals as brands fight to compete in a world of behemoths like LVMH and Richemont.” Swetha Ramachandran, an investment manager at GAM Global Luxury Brands Fund, said: “We expect this (deal) to be the starting gun for a further round of industry consolidation in the luxury sector over the next 12 to 18 months, with the significant polarisation we continue to see between the stronger and weaker brands.” For NYT’s Amie Tsang and Vanessa Friedman, “The acquisition would add another prominent American name to the LVMH stable of brands, which includes Dior, Givenchy, Fendi and Dom Pérignon. The deal would help propel the French luxury company into a leadership position not only in traditional soft luxury goods like clothing and handbags, but also in what is known as the hard luxury sector, which includes watches and jewellery.”