LVMH

“I remember people telling me, it doesn't make sense to put together so many brands, and it was a success. It was a recognized success, and for the last 10 years now, every competitor is trying to imitate. I think they are not successful, but they'll try.”

“He starts buying into LVMH, I think, in 1987, and has complete control by 1989, I think. Let's go back to the beginning of the book to make sure I'm right. Yeah. Friday, January, 13th, January 1989.”

“Arnold said he wanted to make LVMH the biggest luxury goods group in the world.”

“Immediately, he transformed Dior Couture into a holding company, allocated its stake in LVMH, and offered the capital to the holding company, and offered the capital of the holding company to private investors. Why did he do that? Because this brought Bernard …”

“Bernard targets Boussac because he wants Dior. That is the first in a chain of events that's going to eventually lead him to overtaking and taking over LVMH.”

“People had to prove themselves before they won Arnault's confidence. They had to be good, and they had to know how to stand up to him when they were sure of their case.”

“He has this rare combination of he's intolerant of slowness, and he has an unbelievably long-term view that I think is very, has been beneficial.”

“At the time, it looked expensive. What looked expensive was actually unbelievably cheap, and no one saw it but Arnall.”

“LVMH was now quoted at only 1200 francs. It was down 50%.”

“He targets timeless brands that have proven themselves in different economic cycles and through changes in consumer preferences, even though LVMH may be 3040 years old, whatever it is, some of their brands are hundreds of years old.”

“They almost bought Sephora before LVMH buys it.”