Has the buying spree started again with LVMH, PPR, and Richemont?

[mikeijames]

lol

whenever i see such women, all i can think of is 'more power to you gurrl!'

and damn. i love Volcom (well, basically all skate and surf brands). i hope the prices will stay the same.

puma prices stayed the same, didn't they? i guess it's admirable that they're diversifying their portfolio in this way. after all, they don't have solid wine & spirits' or timepieces' properties like the other conglomerates.

 

[mikeijames]

and i guess the hermes family -- jean-paul gaultier and lvmh by extension -- got a nice pay day out of this sale. it's all one big chess board this fashion business.

2011 May 3
Puig Makes a Deal to Acquire Jean Paul Gaultier

(NEW YORK) The deal is done. Today, Puig announced its intention to purchase a 60% stake in Jean Paul Gaultier by acquiring the 45% stake currently held by Hermès International along with approximately 15% additionally from Gaultier himself. The deal was concluded today in Paris. “I am thrilled,” said Gaultier. “They’re nice people; they have a lot of energy. It’s a family business. They know what they want to achieve and they are taking Gaultier for Gaultier.” In 2016, Puig will also gain control of Gaultier's fragrance license, which is currently held by Shiseido subsidiary Beauté Prestige International. Gaultier will unveil a new men's scent during the July couture shows. The role of president at Gaultier will be relinquished by its namesake designer and filled by Manuel Puig, a vice chairman of Puig and president of Nina Ricci. Jean Paul Gaultier will turn his focus to designing his collections—couture and ready-to-wear in the men's, women's, and children's markets.

(source: dailyfrontrow.com)

 

[mikeijames]

monsieur arnault takes no prisoners, that's for sure....

LVMH Managed to Buy More Hermès Shares
8/10/11 at 11:20 AM

Despite the lengthy measures that Hermès has taken to defend their company's shares from LVMH, who got everyone in a tizzy about the possibility of a hostile takeover when they gained a sizable chunk of Hermès stocks last year, LVMH has still managed buy more. The conglomerate announced yesterday that they'd upped their stake Hermès from 20.2 percent to 21.4 percent, although Bernard Arnault has maintained that he has no intention of attempting to gain control of the brand.

Another Bite [Vogue UK]

(source: nymag.com)

 

[thejarc]

I recently read that Hermes is worth around 65 billion euro (around 100 billion dollar I think)
So that would mean that LVMH invested around 2 billion dollars in Hermes...
Who on earth would spend that much money on a minority stake if he's not interested in gaining a controlling position? They now approx. 80% of all available stock. That's scary.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

my jaw hit the floor

HOW???

 

[mikeijames]

my jaw hit the floor

HOW???

the w piece nailed it....

Arnault is wealthy and stealthy enough to play a long game, *hoping that wayward family members will eventually weaken. The same strategy has worked for him in the past, notably at Louis Vuitton, just as it did for media mogul Rupert Murdoch when he wrested control of The Wall Street Journal from the Bancroft family. Imagine if the same thing happened to your family: Wouldn’t you worry about a cash-strapped cousin or grouchy uncle selling out?

(source: wmagazine.com/fashion/2011/08/christophe-lemaire-hermes)

 

[mikeijames]

meanwhile ppr's sniffing around brioni accounting for the swift exit of alessandro dell acqua and a shuttering of their womenswear line just when it started to get good....

Brioni Shock | ELLA ALEXANDER | 23 August 2011

BRIONI is ending its womenswear line, and its contract with the label's creative director Alessandro Dell'Acqua. Brioni's manufacturing plant in Italy, which was dedicated to the production of the brand's womenswear collections, will be shut down in September.
A statement from the brand attributes the decision to a renewed focus on its menswear line, although other press reports suggest ongoing talks with luxury conglomerate PPR - who were reportedly looking to acquire the brand - have played a key part in the move. The label's next womenswear show, due to take place during Milan Fashion Week on September 25, has been cancelled.

Dell'Acqua was appointed as creative director in May 2010, to strengthen its womenswear division.

(source: vogue.co.uk)

 

[Dkammern]

I guess it all depends on how much money Pinault is willing to invest. Not in buying the label (which should be rather cheap) but in making it work.
As you say things were just getting better and better under Dell'Aqua, so it's too bad that they'd buy the company with his side of the business already shut.

 

[mikeijames]

signed, sealed, delivered. let the buying spree continue!

A New Acquisition | LAUREN MILLIGAN | 15 September 2011

Updated Tuesday November 8, 10.01am: After months of talks and much industry speculation, PPR has acquired 100 per cent of the Brioni label for an undisclosed sum, Francois-Henri Pinault confirmed today. The label, which is thought to be worth in the region of £300 million, will form part of PPR's development plan - as Pinault sells the conglomerate's mass-market retailers to fund the acquisition of labels with better expansion potential.

 

[Street_a_Licious]

what are PPR's mass market retailers? La Redoute/Redcats? Fnac?

sounds like they're trying to go all upscale.

 

[mikeijames]

the grinch who stole hermes....

LVMH Got Its Hands on More Hermès Shares
By Charlotte Cowles

Hermes just can't get comfortable.

Just one day after the Hermès family announced that their new non-listed holding company — which they created to protect the company's shares from LVMH's encroaching ownership — was officially up and running, LVMH said it had increased its stake in Hermès yet again. According to a statement released today by France’s stock market authority AMF, LVMH upped its stake from 21.4 percent to 22.3 percent. It now holds 16 percent of the firm’s voting rights. Although Hermès's new non-listed company arrangement will make it harder for LVMH to acquire company stocks in the future, the timing of LVMH's announcement implies that Bernard Arnault has no intention of backing down.

(source: nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/12/lvmh-got-its-hands-on-more-herms-shares.html)

 

[Street_a_Licious]

for someone who keeps on saying that he has no intention of a hostile takeover, his actions sure aren't supporting those claims.

i can just about imagine him sitting in his living room, going 'plus, PLUS, je veux plus!!!'