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Bernard Arnauld - The LVMH Empire (at OxfordUnion)

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Leadership
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The Legend of Luxury, Wines & Spirits, Jewelry and high fashion.

Bernard Arnault's LVMH group owns a portfolio of prestigious luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, and Celine in the fashion sector. In the realm of wines and spirits, LVMH owns Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, and Hennessy. Additionally, the company holds stakes in the jewelry brand Bulgari and the luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer. These brands showcase a blend of high fashion, fine spirits, and luxury goods, all contributing to Arnault's position as a leader in the luxury industry.

Keytakeaways:

Luxury is about high quality, creativity, and innovation.

Mindset ⭐⭐⭐

  • Always anticipate the worst and consider what could go wrong.
  • Never be satisfied; always ask if you’ve done enough.
  • Be positive and continue innovating.
  • Arnault is long-term optimistic but short-term pessimistic.
  • He looks for undervalued stocks during crises and acquires them.

During Business

  • He bought Christian Dior because it was a well-known brand, recognized everywhere.
  • Luxury products are timeless, while innovation-driven products (like Apple) require constant updates.
  • They constantly ask, “How can we create the most innovative products?”
  • If you create something unique, you have a market.
  • Arnault met Steve Jobs when Jobs asked for advice on pricing iPods.

Market Considerations

  • Key players in the luxury market are engineers from the U.S. and China.

Marketing

  • Positioning a product involves analyzing customer wants and following trends.
  • They often do the opposite of market trends, creating new products that might fail, but, when successful, customers follow. This is the agile Venture Capital mindset which bets one-two out of 20 that acchieves a strong return.
  • For luxury, creating desire is key, with promotions in magazines or online.

Internet

  • The internet is increasingly important.
  • Magazine marketing is decreasing while internet marketing is rising.
  • They target competitors on platforms like Facebook because of their strong brands and potential to compete in ads marketing.

Customers

  • Customers use computers and mobile devices to check products.
  • The internet influences their choices by telling the brand’s story.

Investment Vision ⭐⭐

  • Arnault maintains a 20-year vision: 80% good years, 20% bad (10% bad, 10% very bad).
  • In crises, they find opportunities but stay patient.
  • He advises against investing when things are overpriced and emphasizes patience during market downturns to avoid selling unnecessarily.