Alexandre Arnault - The young gentleman, the potential heir to the top empire LVMH

What makes experts believe that Alexandre Arnault is the one Mr. Bernard trusts to hand over LVMH, not two older children who have a lot of experience?

Alexandre Arnault is the third son of billionaire Bernard Arnault - who owns the world's largest luxury group LVMH. Bernard Arnault's fortune is estimated at 181.7 billion USD - making him the 3rd richest person in the world, just behind Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

At 72, Mr. Bernard has yet to show signs of retirement. However, in the context of his increasing age and the LVMH empire still expanding, the question of the LVMH heir is more concerned than ever.

The French billionaire has 5 children and almost each holds important positions in the group. The eldest daughter Delphine (46 years old) is holding the position of executive vice president of Louis Vuitton. The second son Antoine (44 years old) is the CEO of Berluti, the president of Loro Piana and the head of communications at LVMH.

The fourth son Frederic (26 years old) was appointed CEO of Tag Heuer last year and only the youngest daughter Jean (23 years old) has not joined the group because of her university studies.

However, of all 5 siblings, Alexandre Arnault (29 years old) proved to be the most potential candidate. He was given the position of CEO of Rimowa brand suitcase company and executive vice president of Tiffany - the brand has just been added to the LVMH empire after the cult merger worth $ 16.2 billion at the end of 2020.

So what makes experts believe that Alexandre Arnault is the one Mr. Bernard trusts to hand over LVMH, not two older children who have a lot of experience?

Who is Alexandre Arnault?

The third son of Mr. Bernard Arnault is tall, thin, and always soft-spoken and considerate. He often appears in an elegant Dior suit and classic Berluti shoes.

At first, you might guess that Alexander, like many sons, was born into a wealthy family. Not necessarily.

During high school, Alexander did not attend a prestigious international school. But he chose to attend the Lycée Louis le Grand, a prestigious school in the 5th arrondissement, Paris. As a public school, tuition here is free. The rules for selecting students are purely based on grades.

After high school, Alexandre enrolled to study Engineering Science at Télécom ParisTech, one of the best universities in France. But he wanted to achieve more than simply study. Alexandre asked permission to join all classes on the same day of the week. For the remaining four days, he can go to work.

For three years, from 2013 to 2016, Alexandre kept a tight schedule. In four days, he joined the new technology department at Groupe Arnault, the Arnault family's financial investment company. In addition, Alexandre also began to follow in the footsteps of her father, Mr. Bernard, to get acquainted with the work at LVMH group.

The world first noticed Alexandre Arnault in 2017, when he and his father Bernard traveled to the US to meet President Donald Trump and discuss LVMH's plans in the US. Mr. Bernard chose 25-year-old Alexandre, instead of two older siblings, Delphine or Antoine, who had many years of experience at LVMH.

Growing up in the LVMH family, Alexandre had early access to celebrities and business moguls.

The 29-year-old has intimate relationships with the world's top celebrities such as David Beckham, Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Jay-Z, etc. He also knows many tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett or Evan Spiegel,...

"Alexandre is very good at building trust because he communicates with people based on honesty. I think this is very valuable in the business world," French tech billionaire Xavier Niel Spiegel said of Alexandre.

In the super-rich, a well-maintained friendship can lead to lucrative business deals and vice versa. The proof is that thanks to the relationship with Jay-Z, Alexandre brokered help LVMH buy back half of the shares of the alcohol brand belonging to the American rapper.

Success at Rimowa

In 2016, Alexandre convinced his father to buy Rimowa suitcases for $717 million. Immediately, he joined the brand board as co-CEO at the age of 24. At that time, he had only 2 years of experience working at consulting firm McKinsey and investment firm KKR.

However, very soon, under Alexander's leadership, Rimowa's value increased by an average of 20%. The company launched a new series of sunglasses, backpacks and at the same time opened more stores in expensive cities such as New York, Berlin, ...

Not stopping there, thanks to negotiations between Alexandre and Virgil Abloh - the founder of Off-White fashion, the two brands collaborated to launch Off-White x Rimowa. The suitcases in this collection cost up to $1,200, but quickly sold out within a week of their launch in 2018.

Difficult test at Tiffany

After initial success at Rimowa, Alexandre was trusted by her father to take over at Tiffany's. This is LVMH's largest acquisition to date, and the largest merger ever made in the luxury goods industry.

In addition, LVMH is planning to devote all of its promotional resources to Tiffany in the near future, according to the group's chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony. This shows that Tiffany now plays a particularly important role in the empire of countless luxury brands that LVMH owns.

Brands analyst Erwan Rambourg said the appointment of Alexandre as Tiffany's executive vice president is a sign of how much Bernard Arnault values his third son.

Tiffany can be seen as a tough test for Alexandre. Before being acquired by LVMH, the US jewelry company was in crisis when 45% of its revenue came from the mid-priced jewelry line, just under $ 530.

The company also failed to attract a group of young customers - who are willing to spend the most on luxury goods. This seriously threatens the reputation of the world's largest luxury jewelry company.

Only 6 months after taking office, Alexandre has brought a new breath to Tiffany with a bold but new and effective communication method. The 29-year-old vice president directed Tiffany to cancel her daily print advertising contract with The New York Times after more than 30 years to focus on digital advertising.

Next, Tiffany made a big splash at the Golden Globe Awards in March this year after collaborating with two big Hollywood stars, Gal Gadot, Anya Taylor-Joy.

Not stopping there, under the leadership of Alexandre, the company appointed famous group member BLACKPINK Rosé as a global ambassador - a move that helps Tiffany approach the Asian market after a long time lag. compared to rival Cartier.

The heir to the LVMH group?

Alexandre Arnault's achievements at Rimowa in just the past two years are admirable. But the suitcase market is quite small compared to other fashion and beauty markets. However, Alexander has a long way to go. This young man who is not yet 30 years old will certainly be trained by his father Bernard, like brothers and sisters Antoine and Delphine, in more responsible positions at LVMH's house.

In the battle for the succession to the world's largest luxury empire, on the outside Alexandre appears to be the underdog as young and less experienced than her siblings Delphine and Antoine.

However, instead of two eldest children, many industry experts still bet more faith on Alexandre and the fourth son Frederic.

"If Bernard wants LVMH to be run by someone like him in terms of personality, it will be Frederic. If he wants a bold, charismatic, the chosen one will be Alexandre," said one expert, who asked not to be named. with the SCMP sheet.

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