“More than a medal, an object of art. » The words are from Tony Estanguet, president of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Games (Cojop), who unveiled Thursday February 8, alongside Antoine Arnault, image director of the LVMH group, the Olympic and Paralympic medals which will be awarded in less than six months. For the first time in the history of the Games, a jeweler, Chaumet – owned by LVMH – was responsible for the design of the medal.
The event, as symbolic as it may be, is only the latest example of the world leader in luxury’s investment in sport. In July 2023, the signing of Bernard Arnault with Paris 2024 was the most striking illustration of this. It was then the first time that LVMH entered into a sports partnership. But the different houses of the group have a (long) tradition with sport, argues the French giant.
Thus Louis Vuitton, whose trunks with the famous monogram adorn the trophies of the most prestigious competitions, such as the silver ewer of the America’s Cup, since 1983. The French trunk maker is also a partner of the Davis Cup (tennis ), the Monaco Grand Prix (formula 1) or even football, for which it has provided the setting for the Jules-Rimet trophy (World Cup) since 2010.
The jeweler Tiffany & Co, for its part, produces trophies for major American sports, such as that of the Super Bowl (US football), the NBA final and the US Open. Tag Heuer has long been the official timekeeper of Formula 1…
However, since the announcement of the partnership with Paris 2024, the luxury giant has moved up a gear. Louis Vuitton thus provided a tailor-made box for the Webb-Ellis trophy during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. In October, the trunk maker also renewed its partnership – interrupted in 2017 – with the America’s Cup for the 37e edition of the sailing event – at the end of 2024 in Barcelona –, the elimination phase of which even bears the name of the French manufacturer (Louis Vuitton Cup). A few days later, the famous monogram appeared at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on the trophy trunk and on the tuxedo worn by the winner Lionel Messi. Shortly before Christmas, Vuitton announced that it had signed an agreement with the Australian Open (tennis)…
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But why is the world leader in luxury, which recorded record results in 2023 and whose notoriety is no longer in doubt, today investing massively in sports fields? Sport offers the advantage of infinite possibilities in terms of sponsorship, underlines Magali Tézenas of Montcel. “Each time, LVMH and its different houses have chosen very CSP + sports and very premium competitions, which correspond to the world of luxury and the DNA of the group”observes the general director of the interprofessional organization Sporsora.
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