“We did not expect to become Hermès shareholders. We made a financial investment which turned out in a way we did not expect,” announced Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, before the group’s board on April 18th. But according to a piece published yesterday in the French daily Le Monde, the reality may have been quite different. For nearly ten years, the world’s leading luxury group patiently and secretly pursued a plan to control Hermès, according to a 115-page report compiled by the AMF, a French market authority, says Le Monde journalist Nicole Vulser, who obtained a copy of the report. According to the document, which “can sometimes read like a thriller,” the plan began in 2001 and involved scenario planning for an ”Hermès takeover” conducted under the codename “Mercure.” LVMH, in a statement, “vigorously contests the findings of the report” and are preparing to fight the allegations. The AMF is scheduled to meet on May 31 to discuss the matter.
Via Businessoffashion.
The chairman, controlling shareholder — and lodestar — of the world’s second-largest luxury goods group, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is taking a yearlong break beginning in September. Rupert revealed his decision as the company posted a 30.2 percent increase in net profits to 2.01 billion euros, or $2.59 billion, in the 12 months to March 31.
