- Delphine Arnault becomes CEO of Christian Dior
- Pietro Beccari replaces Michael Burke at Louis Vuitton
- Burke to continue working with Arnault
PARIS, Jan 11 (Portal) – LVMH (LVMH.PA) Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has reshuffled the top management of his luxury goods empire, breaking the grip of his family with the appointment of his daughter Delphine to lead Christian Dior and the appointment of a new boss for LouisVuitton.
Pietro Beccari, who has been Dior’s boss since 2018, is moving to replace longtime Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke, 65.
“Both are highly regarded, logical promotions within the group,” said Natasha Brilliant, an analyst at Credit Suisse.
Shares of LVMH, Europe’s most valuable company at around 380 billion euros ($408 billion), rose as much as 2% to hit new highs. Luxury company shares have recently been boosted by the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China, a key market.
Delphine Arnault, 47, has worked alongside Burke at Louis Vuitton for the past decade and previously spent a dozen years at Dior.
Burke, Bernard Arnault’s senior lieutenant and chairman of jewelry label Tiffany, will continue working with Arnault Sr., the company said in a statement, without further detailing his new role.
Burke, one of fashion’s most influential executives, has led the rapid growth of Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury label, and has played a key role in elevating street style into the realm of luxury in recent years, for example.
Beccari, who also previously ran LVMH’s own Fendi label, tripled Christian Dior’s sales during his tenure, to €6.6 billion, according to Citi estimates. LVMH does not provide a breakdown of its brands’ annual sales.
RESORT SHOPS, STAR-STARD FASHION SHOWS
Beccari took the label into new products, including beach accessories like surfboards and hammocks, and brought them closer to customers by setting up temporary retail stores in resort towns like Mykonos, Greece and Santa Barbara, California.
The executive led a massive overhaul of the label’s historic address on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, transforming it into a massive flagship store complete with restaurants and a museum, and revitalizing pedestrian traffic in the neighborhood.
Dior’s catwalk presentations in Paris, attended by global stars like K-pop singer Jisoo and Rihanna, draw crowds of screaming fans, and the brand lit up social media last month with a show by menswear designer Kim Jones in Egypt Pyramids as a backdrop.
[1/2] Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, and Delphine Arnault, Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton, leave the fashion house Louis Vuitton after the spring/summer 2020 collection during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 20 2019 Portal/Charles Platiau/Files
Bernard Arnault is often seen in the front row, flanked by his children.
“Succession planning in strategic positions has been critical to the success of LVMH’s key brands over the past 20 years, so today’s moves are significant,” said Thomas Chauvet, analyst at Citi.
SUCCESSION PLANS
The announced changes, which will come into effect in February, follow the recent appointment of Antoine Arnault, Bernard Arnault’s eldest son, as head of the family’s holding company.
The family’s consolidation of its empire also comes amid a wave of high-profile succession deals at other fashion companies in Europe, including Prada (1913.F) and Zara-owner Inditex.
Bernard Arnault, 73, has shown no sign he plans to step down anytime soon and the company last year raised the maximum age of its CEO from 75 to 80.
All of his children hold managerial positions at brands in the group and are carefully nurtured by senior executives as they rise through the ranks.
Of the five, Delpine Arnault was most involved in fashion, as director of the group’s fashion awards for emerging designers.
Delphine and Antoine, 45, are children of their father’s first marriage.
Alexandre Arnault, 30, is responsible for products and communications at Tiffany, while Frederic Arnault, 28, is CEO of another group brand, TAG Heuer. The youngest child, Jean Arnault, 24, heads up marketing and product development for Louis Vuitton’s watch division.
As part of the management change, the company also integrates Tiffany into the watch and jewelry division under the direction of Stephane Bianchi.
LVMH shares shine
($1 = 0.9308 euros)
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely
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