In a rare double announcement of this magnitude, the group said Wednesday morning that after ten years as CEO of Louis Vuitton - its flagship brand, the world's leading luxury house in terms of sales - Michael Burke would step down to Pietro Beccari, who ran Christian Dior Couture since 2018 after entering the LVMH galaxy in 2006.

Quoted in the press release, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, praised "the tremendous work" carried out by Michael Burke which enabled Louis Vuitton to "widen the gap with its competitors".

Mr Burke will remain by his side in "new duties" which have not been specified.

Delphine Arnault, her 47-year-old daughter, will take over the Christian Dior house, replacing Pietro Beccari.

She was until now deputy general manager of Louis Vuitton, responsible for overseeing all product activities since 2013, after having worked at Christian Dior for twelve years.

"Under his direction, the desirability of products has progressed considerably, allowing the brand (Louis Vuitton) to fly from record to record. his father.

These two appointments - which will be effective on February 1 - are "obvious signs of confidence, with also the desire to respect a balance between external personalities and members of the Arnault family", commented to AFP Arnaud Cadart, manager of portfolios at Flornoy.

"Pietro Beccari takes the helm of a strategic house if there is one, and Delphine Arnault that of the other nugget of the group: she has proven herself with a big and good job at Vuitton, it's a major appointment" , he estimated.

"Leadership Transition"

While the LVMH title took 1.19% (765.30 euros) on the Paris Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning around 09:00 GMT, analysts at RBC Capital Markets considered these managerial changes "positive", which "also reflect the leadership transition ongoing within the Arnault family,” in a note.

The five children of the businessman already work in the LVMH group: in addition to Delphine, Antoine, the eldest son, was appointed last December as general manager of the Christian Dior SE holding, which controls the world number one in luxury LVMH , as well as vice-chairman of the board of directors of the holding company.

He is also Managing Director of Berluti, Chairman of Loro Piana, Image and Environment Director of the LVMH group, and Director of LVMH.

Bernard Arnault with his wife Hélène (Cg) and their children Antoine (3rd-d), Delphine (4th-d), Alexandre (l) and Frédéric (2nd-g) during the inauguration of the Jean Arnault campus at EDHEC of Roubaix on July 9, 2021 © DENIS CHARLET / AFP / Archives

Alexandre Arnault is for his part executive vice-president of the jeweler Tiffany.

Frédéric is CEO of Tag Heuer and Jean is Director of Marketing and Watch Development for Louis Vuitton.

The patriarch Bernard Arnault, 73, recently became with his family the first fortune in the world ahead of Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, according to the Forbes ranking.

On Wednesday, LVMH also announced that American jeweler Tiffany is joining the group's Watches and Jewelry division, after completing its takeover in January 2021.

The results of the world number one in luxury for the year 2022 should be unveiled within a few weeks and are expected to improve.

In 2021, the group had generated 64 billion euros in turnover, i.e. 20 billion euros more than in 2020. Its Fashion and Leather Goods division - which includes Vuitton, Dior, Céline, Givenchy, Fendi and even Kenzo - had contributed over 30 billion.

LVMH does not communicate the detailed financial performance of its 75 brands.

© 2023 AFP