Delphine Arnault, daughter of Bernard Arnault and partner of Xavier Niel, was promoted to director of Dior
Global luxury giant LVMH will renew the management of its two biggest brands, Louis Vuitton and Dior, with the appointment of Pietro Beccari as first head, and Delphine Arnault, daughter of Bernard Arnault, as second controller. .
In a rare double announcement of this magnitude, the LVMH group indicated on Wednesday 11 January that after ten years as CEO of Louis Vuitton – its flagship brand, the world’s leading luxury home in terms of sales – Michael Burke will be making way for Pietro Beccari, who runs Christian Dior. Couture since 2018 after entering the LVMH galaxy in 2006.
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Quoted in the press release, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, praised the “excellent job” done by Michael Burke in enabling Louis Vuitton to “widen the gap with its competitors”. Michael Burke will remain by his side in the context of the “new function” which is yet to be determined.
Delphine Arnault, her 47-year-old daughter, will lead the house of Christian Dior, succeeding Pietro Beccari. He has until now served as deputy general manager of Louis Vuitton, responsible for overseeing all product activities since 2013, having worked at Christian Dior for twelve years.
“Under his direction, the product’s appeal has grown tremendously, allowing the (Louis Vuitton) brand to fly from record to record. His father.
“Leadership Transition”
Both of these appointments – which will become effective on February 1 – are “a clear sign of trust, with also a desire to respect the balance between external personalities and members of the Arnault family”, comments to AFP Arnaud Cadart, portfolio manager at Flornoy. “Pietro Beccari takes the helm of a strategic house if there is one, and Delphine Arnault takes the other half of the group: she has proven herself with a big, good job at Vuitton, it’s a big appointment”, he estimates.
While the LVMH title took 1.56% (768.10 euros) on the Paris Stock Exchange shortly after this announcement, Bernstein analysts described it as “very good news” the appointment of Pietro Beccari to “open a new chapter of growth” for Louis Vuitton, whose turnover 2022 they expect “more than 22 billion euros” – while the luxury group did not detail the financial performance of its brands.
Meanwhile, analysts at RBC Capital Markets consider the managerial change “positive”, which “also reflects the ongoing leadership transition within the Arnault family”, also forecasting Dior’s 2021 annual sales of 6.2 billion euros.
Well represented families
All five of the entrepreneur’s children already work in the LVMH group: besides Delphine, Antoine, the eldest son, was appointed last December as general manager of holding company Christian Dior SE, which controls the world’s number one luxury LVMH, as well as co-chairman of the holding company’s board of directors. He is also the Managing Director of Berluti, Chair of Loro Piana, Director of Image and Environment for the LVMH group, and Director of LVMH. Alexandre Arnault for his part is the executive vice president of the jewelery store Tiffany. Frédéric is the CEO of Tag Heuer and Jean is the Director of Marketing and Watch Development for Louis Vuitton.
Patriarch Bernard Arnault, 73, recently with his family became the world’s first riches ahead of Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, according to Forbes rankings. LVMH has also announced that American jeweler Tiffany is joining the group’s Watches and Jewelery division, following the final takeover in January 2021.
The world number one luxury results for 2022 will be announced in a few weeks and are expected to improve. As of 2021, the group has generated a turnover of 64 billion euros, which is 20 billion euros more than in 2020. Its Fashion and Leather Goods division – which includes Vuitton, Dior, Céline, Givenchy, Fendi and even Kenzo – has contributed more than 30 billion .
