Will Tiffany be the next to join LVMH’s stable of luxury brands?

LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) the large French conglomerate that owns several luxury brands is set on acquiring American jeweller Tiffany.

Back in 1984, Bernard Arnault, today Europe richest man and founder of LVMH, bought Boussac, a near bankrupt textile company for 1 franc. A man known for his dealmaking, had set eyes on one gem, Christian Dior, owned by the near-bankrupt company. This was the start of LVMH.

Since 1984, with Monsieur Arnault’s dealmaking skills, LVMH has expanded into Europe’s largest luxury group, owning fashion brands, wine and champagne houses, watchmakers, travel groups and luxury hotels. Céline, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacob, Rimowa, Fendi, Moêt Chandon, and Cheval Blanc are household names for many. Add brands such as Hublot, Tag Heuer, luxury hotel Cipriani in Venice and travel group Belmond, owner of the Venice Simplon Orient Express and you get the idea of why Monsieur Arnaould also is being nicknamed Man of the Logos.

Last year’s sales augmented to €46,8bn (source Financial Times 2 November 2019).

However, LVMH only owns one jewellery company, Bulgary. Is that why Monsieur Arnault last week made a bid for US Jeweller Tiffany of US$14,5bn? Adding Tiffany to the LVMH stable of luxury brands would certainly step up the possibilities for Monsieur Arnault to compete  with Richemont, the Suisse luxury group that owns Cartier and van Clef.

LVMH, ett av världens största företag inom lyxproduktbranschen har lagt ett bud på det amerikanska juvelföretaget Tiffany.