Two Luxury Giants Staged Acquisitions And Anti Takeover Wars

At the end of 2010, the commercial war story of Paris, the fashion capital of the world, contributed a lot to the luxury empire.

At the end of October, the world's luxury industry leader Louis Mohun group suddenly issued a statement announcing the successful purchase of a total of 17.1% of Hermes's shares with a total value of 1 billion 450 million euros, thanks to financial derivatives.

Recently,

The dispute over luxury empire is on again.

An enterprise gene that uses capital to expand in a high profile and streamline production, and a brand war that allows consumers to wait for six years, pursues manual production as a Birkin package, is regarded as a war of money and poetry.

The plot of LVMH

"No Dior perfume, then come to my name."

From the 1987 LVMH group CEO Bernard Arnott (Bernard Arnault) integrated the Dior perfume to the name, the LVMH emperor began her big acquisition in the luxury subdivision industry.

From France's Givenchy, SEF, to Loewe in Spain and to the Heuer Watch in Switzerland, to the United States.

Quoted from the media in Paris, France, "everyone wants to know who Arnott is targeting this time." Arnott's regular job is to streamline and restructure complex company structures and strip off useless brands.

In addition, in recent years, due to independence

The elegant and luxurious image of Hermes is very appetites to Arnott, and Hermes is still one of the few brands still growing.

Such performance is very attractive.

Louis has really coveted Hermes for a long time.

Arnott explained that as early as the 80s of last century, some of Hermes's shareholders had sold about 10% of the LVMH group's shares, which were sold in early 90s at the request of the former chairman of Hermes.

According to his subsequent explanation, LVMH has acquired about 5% of Hermes in recent years.

Analysts said that this indicated that LVMH had been planning for a long time and began to rearrange the acquisition of Hermes in a few years.

In March 2010, LVMH group CEO Bernard Arnott told the Wall Street Journal reporter that "we will buy more companies in the next 6 to 8 months."

According to Deutsche Bank and other research institutions, the acquisition of LVMH group is a long-term trend for the group.

At present, LVMH55%'s profits come from Louis Weedon, and other leather brands such as Fendi, Loewe and Celine have been dragging their legs for many years, and buying Hermes can no doubt alleviate its dependence on Louis Weedon.

Although Arnott has told the media several times in a leisurely manner, LVMH will not seek hostile takeover and will not seek Hermes' board seats. "We will respect the independence of the Hermes family and contribute to the preservation of their family and French characteristics."

But it always sounds familiar.

Since he became chairman of the LVMH board, he has said the same thing more than once, but few can escape Arnott's palm.

People still remember that when buying the 5% stake in GUCCI group in 1999, Arnott just said the same thing and increased the shareholding of GUCCI to 34% in one month.

At present, the French local newspapers are widely reported that the Hermes family is unhappy with LVMH group holding Hermes. Bernard Arnott, President of LVMH group, said he did not care about these negative voices. "I do not think a private partnership has the right to order investors to abandon their shares.

Our investment in Hermes is long, and it is neither against the community nor from its family. "

As a luxury giant in business all over the world, LVMH's investment in Hermes is a further expansion of its territory.

How to inherit the brand gene?

At home, LVMH group and Hermes group have said they can not accept the relevant interviews of Chinese media on this issue.

This is the common practice of the luxury industry in China.

Just talk about brand culture, not anything else.

Especially when big events come.

"To be or not to be?" this is the survival choice that the enterprises in the luxury Empire still insist on independent brands but fail to maintain good business conditions.

The experiences of Hermes in 2010 were ups and downs.

In May 1st, the death of his former executive director, Jean-Louis Dumas, was followed by the Jean-Louis Duma, who was recruited to the command and set up the classic style design director Jean Paul Gaultier for Hermes. He announced her resignation. The successor was the design director of the French crocodile Christophe Lemaire, which changed many people.

But the stock price of Hermes has not been affected, and has gone all the way, even doubled.

At present, the French financial market regulator is investigating the LVMH group's purchase of the Hermes group equity event to confirm whether the paction complies with the relevant rules for financial pactions.

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In recent years, LVMH, PPR and the three major luxury goods groups have become more and more popular.

To compete in the competition of international capital operation, the brand is only large enough to withstand the costs of development, design, supply and so on, and the easiest way to expand is acquisition.

Liu Wei, a senior partner in brand consulting and senior manager of brand strategy management, thinks that LVMH is the most important brand gene in its acquisition of Hermes. First, it does not consider itself a luxury, but claims to be a creative craftsman. Second, it does not outsource, and 85% works by itself. Third, it does not flow, and is only sewed by a craftsman. Fourth, no fear, etc. consumers are willing to Birkin handbags for 6 years; fifth, do not sell concession, prefer to spend 20 years to master the top skills of the industry; sixth, do not do the first, always say that they do not care about numbers, only care about value; seventh, do not lead any market, but do late.

At present, people are most concerned about the success of the acquisition.

Whether the traditional handmade products of Hermes will become pipelined production because of coping with expansion.

Traditional handmade products are always the core values of Hermes.

The British book "luxuries - how luxury is lost" has mentioned that LV leather has not been produced manually and reduced to mass production lines. Burberry has many products in China.

Hermes only insisted on being hand-made in France.

Liu Wei believes that the strategy of luxury brands must ensure a principle of inheriting the past, respecting the brand heritage such as family history, unique skills and vivid brand story, and brand identity comes from tradition.

Now, in the increasingly convergent world, Hermes has undoubtedly maintained his own style.

But in the 2001 marketing strategy, Anault Vaisman, the world's managing gurus, advised: "competition for survival is the dominant principle in nature. Maybe we should suggest that most entrepreneurs go to biologists instead of economists."