Bernard Arnault in Paris, May 23, 2024. (AFP / GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT)
The chairman and founder of French luxury giant LVMH owns a “small” stake in Richemont, the Swiss parent company of Cartier, according to media reports.
“People close to Mr. Arnault indicate that he holds a small stake in Richemont in a personal capacity,” Bloomberg revealed on Tuesday.
Two anonymous sources subsequently confirmed to the Financial Times the existence of the stake in the group controlled by its founder and chairman, South African billionaire Johann Rupert.
For Bernard Arnault, who is among the world’s richest people, the shares are “an investment” and do not indicate any particular intentions, sources from the two media outlets specified.
But the stake has raised questions, with LVMH having tried in the past, in vain, to get its hands on the saddler and leather goods maker Hermès by entering its capital in disguise in 2010 and gradually increasing to more than 23% of the capital.
As of March 31, 2024, no shareholder other than Mr. Rupert, who holds 10.2% capital but 51% of the voting rights, held more than 3% of the voting rights, according to the latest annual report.
LVMH, the world’s number one luxury goods company, generated more than 86 billion euros in 2023 and a net profit of over 15 billion euros.
Richemont posted 20.6 billion euros in sales last year, with 2.4 billion euros in net profit.
The group announced in May that it would reinstate the position of general manager, handing the reins to the current boss of Van Cleef & Arpels, Nicolas Bos.
“I am not in the process of withdrawing,” however, Mr. Rupert insisted.
Asked by Bloomberg about a potential future takeover of a competitor, Bernard Arnault replied, without naming a target, that “we have ideas for the future, but I cannot tell you”.
“We don’t need it. But I know of several brands that could be a good fit, and that I know the owners would be very happy with,” he told the agency.
In February, Mr. Arnault described Mr. Rupert as an “exceptional manager”, the Richemont group as “very successful” and the Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels brands as “two formidable brands”.
“I have no desire to disrupt his strategy,” he said, adding: “I understand that he wants to remain independent. I think that’s very good. And if he needs support to maintain his independence, I will be there.”