A Timeline Behind the Building of LVMH

In 1984, now-LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault learned that Christian Dior was for sale. Its parent company Boussac had filed for bankruptcy and the French government was looking for a buyer for the ailing textile empire that owned a number of companies, including Paris-based fashion house Dior. As the story goes, the then-35-year old Arnault – who had spent the previous 10 years heading up the construction firm founded by his grandfather – took $15 million from his family, combined it with $45 million from French financial institution Lazard Frères, and purchased Boussac in a quest to get his hands on the famed French fashion house.

As the New York Times would write in December 1989, within two years of acquiring Boussac, “Arnault had pushed [the company] into the black, laying off 9,000 workers and selling off [its] disposable-diaper division and most of its textile operations for $500 million.” While that deal helped Arnault to “leapfrog from his family’s $15 million-a-year business to a company 20 times as large,” and earned him the title of “a force to reckon with in French business,” an ever acquisition was to follow: his 1990 spree to gain control of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, the merged fashion house and spirits company, in which Arnault first invested in the late 1980s.

Since then, Arnault – now 71 years old and the among the richest men in the world, according to Bloomberg’s running “Billionaires” list – has spent billions (and billions) of dollars and worked doggedly to amass no less than 70 luxury brands under the umbrella of the group that is now coined LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton.

Reflecting on his idea to put so many luxury brands — including those competing with each other — under one roof, Arnault told CNBC in 2018, “In the 90s, I had the idea of a luxury group and at the time I was very much criticized for it. I remember people telling me it doesn’t make sense to put together so many brands. And it was a success … And for the last 10 years now, every competitor is trying to imitate, which is very rewarding for us. I think they are not successful but they try.”

Here is a look at the timeline behind the building of the world’s most valuable luxury goods group …

(Please note: The following is not an exhaustive of the acquisitions and entities that exist in relation to LVMH, and instead, focuses exclusively on fashion and a few beauty and jewelry-related entities.)

1987: Louis Vuitton – Founded in France in 1854, Louis Vuitton became part of LVMH in 1987 when the conglomerate was created. Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, leading manufacturers of champagne and cognac, merged respectively with Louis Vuitton to form the luxury goods conglomerate.

1988: Givenchy – Founded in 1952, Givenchy, a couture and ready-to-wear brand, has been part of the LVMH Group since 1988. (For the full story of how Givenchy ended up under the LVMH umbrella, you can find that here.)

1993: Berluti – Founded in 1895 by Italian Alessandro Berluti, the men’s shoes, leather goods, and men’s ready-to-wear brand was acquired by LVMH in 1993.

1993: Kenzo – Founded in 1970, the womenswear and menswear brand was acquired by LVMH in 1993 for $80 million.

1994: Guerlain – The French perfume, cosmetics, and skincare brand, which is among the oldest in the world, was owned and managed by members of Guerlain family from its inception in 1828 to 1994, at which point it was acquired by LVMH.

1996: Céline – Founded in 1945, the Paris-based brand offers ready-to-wear items, leather goods, shoes and accessories. In 1987, Arnault bought into Céline’s capital, but it was only in 1996 that the brand was integrated into the LVMH Group for 2.7 billion French francs ($540 million).

1996: Loewe – The Spanish company created in 1846 was acquired by LVMH in 1996. Originally specializing in very high-quality leather work, today, Loewe offers leather goods and ready-to-wear.

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