For nearly four decades, LVMH had one move: buy. Under billionaire Bernard Arnault, the Paris-listed conglomerate hoovered up more than 75 brands — Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany, Bvlgari, Sephora, Moët & Chandon — and grew into Europe's most valuable company. Since 2000 alone, it has completed 206 takeovers, including the $16bn purchase of US jeweller Tiffany in 2020 and the €3.7bn ($4.3bn) acquisition of Italian house Bvlgari in 2011. This year, the strategy has flipped.
According to people familiar with the matter, LVMH is exploring sales of fashion label Marc Jacobs, its 50 per cent stake in Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, and Joseph Phelps Vineyards in California. Together, these disposals could net the company billions of euros to reinvest in stronger parts of the empire. They build on a recent run of exits: in the past 18 months, LVMH has offloaded Off-White (the streetwear label founded by the late Virgil Abloh), the Greater China arm of travel retailer DFS, and its 49 per cent stake in Stella McCartney's eponymous fashion house. As one luxury analyst observed, this is the first time in LVMH's history that it is in downsizing mode rather than growing its portfolio.
The pivot is a response to a chillier climate. Sales have slowed since 2023 as a pandemic-era boom in luxury goods reversed, and a squeeze on disposable incomes among so-called aspirational consumers — middle-class shoppers who buy luxury occasionally — has combined with a run of inflation-busting price rises by top brands to depress demand. Bernstein analyst Luca Solca has said LVMH is reviewing its portfolio to identify what is dragging on margins now that pressures on the business are higher.
But here's the catch: LVMH is not a company in distress. With limited debt and free cash flow of more than €11bn last year, it is unlikely to rush. Senior executives at Moët Hennessy — the worst-performing division in recent years — are sounding out buyers for brands including Eminente rum and Joseph Phelps. The beauty arm is reviewing dated labels like Make Up Forever and Fresh, which would help refocus on upscale lines such as Dior Beauty and Guerlain. JPMorgan values the Fenty stake at between €1.5bn and €2.5bn. An earlier $1bn deal to sell Marc Jacobs to Authentic Brands Group reportedly broke down in negotiations.
Not every potential sale is purely commercial. The Arnault family is split over whether to sell loss-making French newspaper Le Parisien to billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who is described as staunchly rightwing — a transaction his elder children worry could be politically problematic in the run-up to a fraught presidential election. Meanwhile, Arnault has batted away questions about stepping down, and LVMH remains a potential buyer too: the group is reportedly weighing a bid for a minority stake in Giorgio Armani, who named LVMH as one of three preferred buyers in his will. The strategy isn't retreat. It's a sharper, smaller, richer LVMH built around its biggest engines — Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany — with the cash and patience to wait for the right next deal.
For nearly 40 years, LVMH only ever bought. Now Bernard Arnault — Europe's richest man — is quietly hanging 'For Sale' signs on Marc Jacobs, Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, and a chunk of his luxury empire.
LVMH, the French conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany and 75+ other brands, is exploring sales of fashion label Marc Jacobs, its 50% stake in Rihanna's Fenty Beauty, and Joseph Phelps Vineyards in California. Together the disposals could net the company billions of euros to reinvest elsewhere.
This is a sharp pivot. Since 2000, LVMH has done 206 takeovers, including the $16bn purchase of Tiffany in 2020 and the €3.7bn ($4.3bn) Bvlgari deal in 2011. Selling — not buying — is what an analyst quoted in the article called the first time in LVMH's history that it is in 'downsizing mode.'
LVMH isn't in trouble — it had over €11bn in free cash flow last year. Think of this less as a fire sale and more as a gardener pruning a giant hedge so the strongest branches get more sunlight.
If you've noticed Sephora hauls slowing on TikTok, or friends suddenly debating whether a designer bag is 'worth it,' you're seeing the same trend LVMH is reacting to. The luxury slump shapes everything from retail jobs to French politics — Arnault's family is reportedly split over whether selling the newspaper Le Parisien to right-wing billionaire Vincent Bolloré could backfire ahead of a presidential election.
This marks the possible end of luxury's three-decade 'bigger is better' era, when conglomerates collected brands like Pokémon. Watch what LVMH does with the cash: Arnault has hinted at bidding for a stake in Giorgio Armani, who named LVMH as one of three preferred buyers in his will. The question for the next decade is whether luxury becomes more concentrated around a few mega-brands — or whether independents finally get room to breathe.