LVMH banked $59 billion in revenue last year — here are 17 of the most iconic brands the French luxury giant owns
by Dominic-Madori Davis, Business Insider US
- In 2019, LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods seller, saw record growth, bringing in revenue that reached €53.7 billion ($59 billion), Business of Fashion reported.
- Last year, the conglomerate also agreed to buy American jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion, which, according to the New York Times, will be LVMH’s priciest acquisition. It will also the most expensive deal ever made in the wider luxury sector.
- LVMH’s portfolio already includes 75 different brands that range from wines and spirits to leather goods and cosmetics.
- Once the deal is finalized, Tiffany will join brands such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Hennessy as part of LVMH’s expansive portfolio.
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LVMH remains the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate, with revenue reaching $59 billion last year, as reported by Chantal Fernandez at Business of Fashion. Fashion and leather good sales reached $24.5 billion, which is up 17% year-over-year. Across all sectors, the company’s total revenue was up 10% year-over-year.
Last November, the company made headlines when it announced its intention to buy American jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. for a record $16.2 billion, Business Insider’s Mary Hanbury previously reported. This marks the priciest acquisition LVMH has ever made, and is the wider luxury sector’s most expensive deal in history, according to the New York Times.
The deal is expected to close sometime this year.
Tiffany will join the luxury conglomerate’s already-extensive collection of brands, which range from the cosmetics store Sephora and fashion house Christian Dior to French newspaper Le Parisien. In total, LVMH owns 75 different brands.
Here are 17 of the most iconic brands the luxury giant currently owns, ranked in chronological order of LVMH’s acquisition date.
Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche: Le Bon Marché opened in 1852. In 1984, before Bernard Arnault created LVMH, he bought luxury goods company Agache-Willot-Boussac. He renamed it Financière Agache and sold some of the company’s assets. One of the assets he kept was Le Bon Marché, which became part of the LVMH Group in 1987.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1984
Type of goods: High-end department store
Most recognizable for: Le Bon Marché is recognized as being the world’s first department store. The Paris store is noted for its high-end retail and careful selection of goods across the store.
Source: LVMH, 24, New York Times
Louis Vuitton: Louis Vuitton was one of the first acquisitions LVMH made, when the group was first founded in the 1980s. The name Louis Vuitton is found within the title of LVMH, whose initials came from the merger between Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Luxury Retailer
Most recognizable for: The brand is known for its bright orange shopping bags and its leather products, which are usually heavily emblazoned with its “LV” logo.
Source: The Fashion Law
Dom Pérignon: This company is one of the oldest among LVMH’s portfolio. The Champagne company was one of the initial brands part of Moët Hennessy, which later merged with Louis Vuitton to create LVMH.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Champagne
Most recognizable for: Dom Pérignon is one of the oldest companies in LVMH’s portfolio. It was founded in 1668.
Source: New York Times
Hennessy: Founded in 1765, the famous cognac brand has since become one of the most famous liquors in the world.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Wine & Spirits
Most recognizable for: Hennessy is one of the most famous cognac brands in the world. The brand’s headquarters are in Cognac, France, about a five-hour drive from Paris.
Source: Investopedia
Moët & Chandon: Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon has since become one of the most popular Champagnes in the world.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1987
Type of goods: Wine & Spirits
Most recognizable for: Moët & Chandon is one of the most famous Champagnes in the world. Prices start at around $40 a bottle.
Source: Investopedia
Givenchy: The luxury brand was founded in 1952, and has since become one of the most popular brands in the world.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1988
Type of goods: Luxury Retail
Most recognizable for: Givenchy is best known for creating the iconic little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
Source: The Fashion Law, Who What Wear
Sephora: The global cosmetic chain was founded in 1969, and was acquired by LVMH nearly 30 years later.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1997
Type of goods: Cosmetics, Retailer
Most recognizable for: Sephora is known for being one of the top beauty stores in the world. Sephora has more store locations than its rival, Ulta, and carries a variety of high-end brands, among them Fenty Beauty by Rihanna and Kat Von D.
Source: The Fashion Law
Marc Jacobs: Named after its founder, the brand Marc Jacobs was founded in 1984. Its namesake founder was once the creative director of Louis Vuitton before he left the brand to focus on his own.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1997
Type of goods: Luxury Retail & Cosmetics
Most recognizable for: Marc Jacobs was founded by designer Marc Jacobs in 1984. Jacobs was previously the creative director of Louis Vuitton.
Source: The Fashion Law
Benefit Cosmetics: Benefit Cosmetics was founded in 1976 in San Francisco, California, and has since spread globally.
Year acquired by LVMH: 1999
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Most recognizable for: Benefit is a cosmetics company, best known for its makeup. It is sold in Sephora, which is also an LVMH brand.
Source: Crunchbase
Fendi: This brand, founded in 1925, was once led by legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. It was previously owned by both Prada and LVMH, until the latter bought out Prada in 2001. Over the years, LVMH has raised its ownership stakes to 84%.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2000
Type of goods: Luxury Retail
Most recognizable for: Fendi is a luxury brand, best known for its signature “F” print. The brand recently launched a collection with rapper Nicki Minaj.
Source: The Fashion Law, Elle
Fresh: This brand was launched in Boston in 1991 and is known for its natural product line.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2000
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Most recognizable for: Fresh is known for its expansive collection of natural products. It is sold in Sephora.
Bulgari: The famous jewelry brand, founded in 1884, sold to LVMH for $6.01 billion in an all-share deal. The Fashion Law reports that the Bulgari family sold their 50.4% controlling stake in their namesake brand for 3% of LVMH.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2011
Type of goods: Jewelry
Most recognizable for: Luxury jewelry brand Bulgari is known for its watches and diamond necklaces.
Source: The Fashion Law
Kat Von D Beauty: This cosmetics line was launched in 2008 and is named after its namesake founder, tattoo artist and model Kat Von D. It is owned by KENDO, the beauty incubator owned by LVMH.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2008
Type of goods: Cosmetics
Most recognizable for: Kat Von D Beauty was founded by tattoo artist Kat von D. The brand is known for its eyeshadow palettes.
Source: Fashion Retail
Le Parisien: According to LVMH’s website, this newspaper was founded in 1944, and is read by nearly 18 million people each month. Reuters reports that LVMH offered to buy Le Parisien, and its sister paper Aujourd’hui en France, for $54.38 million in 2015.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2015
Type of goods: Tabloid
Most recognizable for: Le Parisien is one of the most notable tabloids in France, along with Le Figaro and Le Liberation.
Rimowa: Founded in 1989, LVMH obtained an 80% stake in Rimowa for roughly $700 million. The company is now run by Alexandre Arnault, son of LVMH’s CEO, Bernard Arnault.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2016
Type of goods: Luggage
Most recognizable for: Rimowa is a luggage company. The brand made headlines after launching a collection of luggage with the brand Supreme in December 2018.
Source: The Fashion Law, Rimowa
Christian Dior: Per The Fashion Law, LVMH acquired Christian Dior in a $13.1 billion deal. Previously, the brand was owned by Groupe Arnault, a private holding company owned by LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.
Year acquired by LVMH: 2017
Type of goods: Luxury retail
Most recognizable for: Dior is a luxury brand, best known for its gowns and handbags. Celebrities such as Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence are noted faces of the brand.
Source: The Fashion Law
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna & Fenty: In a deal with one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, LVMH’s launch of the Fenty Brands made Rihanna the first woman of color to launch a label with LVMH, and the first woman to have an original brand with the luxury conglomerate.
Year acquired by LVMH: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna (2017), Fenty (2019)
Type of goods: Cosmetics & Luxury Clothes
Most recognizable for: In 2017, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna launched a 40-shade range of foundations, which helped to revolutionize diversity in the beauty industry. The shade range has since expanded to 50 shades.