After months of arguing between LVMH and Hermes, the battle is finally over. The French stock market regulator decided today that LVMH will not be permitted to buy out minority Hermès shareholders. This means that Hermes International can now group together more than 50 per cent of its capital into a holding company to protect the family's control. The AMF is due to publish a report on the case Read more
Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that LVMH, lead by Bernard Arnault, bought shares in Hermes as part of a £1.3 billion deal. Ever since, the situation has been tense with Bertrand Puech, who represents the Hermes family, describing the position with LVMH as, "It's like a mosquito buzzing around, and it's annoying. But it's very difficult to get a mosquito out." The family are now taking Read more
A big business deal was secured on Friday as LVMH bought a stake in Hermes. The luxury conglomerate made a £1.3 billion deal, but insists that the move isn't a step towards ownership of the brand. LVMH are expected to increase their share to 17% eventually. This is the first major purchase by LVMH since 1999 when it, with help from Prada, acquired stakes in Fendi. It's a time of change for Read more
Louis Vuitton has worked with some ununusal stars in the past including Keith Richards, Mikhail Gorbachev and Francis Ford, however, now it seems they might have scored their most controversial yet. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is reportedly in the final stages of talks with LVMH over a position within the luxury goods company. Although the actual position is yet to be revealed, a source told Read more
As we coo over gorgeous dresses at catwalk shows, there is some serious business going on behind the scenes. Fashion is a multi-billion pound industry and there is a lot of structure in place to protect some of the biggest names in the industry. Whilst the designers concentrate on being creative, their design houses are backed by major investors. LVMH and the Gucci group are the two largest Read more
Gareth Pugh made his menswear fashion week debut last night (an hour late) in Paris. He has previously included menswear in his collections in London but this is the first time he has dedicated an entire collection to men. The show ended the menswear fashion show season and was arguably one of the most exciting. It was witnessed by Daphne Guinness, Jefferson Hack and Delphine Arnault, daughter of Read more
Karl Lagerfeld recently revealed that he has had to make personal cuts to cope with the recession but it seems the cuts might now stretch to his luxury label, Chanel as the supposed recession-proof industry begins to feel the burn. It has been announced that 200 jobs will be cut citing a steep decline in sales throughout 2008 as the reason. The cuts are being described as the worst since Coco Read more
It has been reported that parent company LVMH won't be announcing the next Dior designer until Autumn. I know that we've been waiting on pins and needles to see who John Galliano's successor is. The reason for the wait is twofold: Firstly, Galliano has yet to be formally fired, and secondly because LVMH doesn't want this season to be a total wash. It seems that Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy is at Read more
Forbes have today revealed their 2011 Rich List and it features some of fashion's biggest names. Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH came fourth in the list (behind Bill Gates amongst others) being valued at £25.3 billion! Arnault recently added Bulgari to his portfolio which already includes Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy. He was joined in the top 20 by High Street moguls Amancio Read more
It has been decided that John Galliano will face trial in France following accusations of anti-semitic slurs used against a couple in Paris. The trial is expected to take place later this year and could result in Galliano being sentenced to six months in prison. Around the time that this news broke, Galliano released a statement where he apologised "unreservedly" for his behaviour. Along with the Read more
