LVMH is a French conglomerate. A conglomerate is a large corporation that controls or owns a number of companies that operate in unrelated markets. The company’s full name is LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton << mah EHT EHN uh see LOO ee (or lwee) vwee TAWN (or TAHN) >>. LVMH was formed in 1987 by the merger of two companies—Louis Vuitton, a maker of luggage and handbags, and Moët Hennessy, a luxury liquor company. The group owns dozens of luxury brands.
The French businessman Bernard Arnault purchased a large amount of stock (ownership shares) in LVMH soon after it was founded. Arnault already owned the luxury fashion house Christian Dior. Arnault became the chief executive of LVMH after a complex legal battle. He then built the business into a multinational luxury-goods conglomerate.
LVMH owns brands in several different categories, including wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, and selective retailing (specialty stores). For example, Moët & Chandon champagne is in the wine and spirits group; Louis Vuitton products are in the fashion and leather-goods group; and Parfums Christian Dior is in the perfumes group. Watches and jewelry include Bulgari, Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Tiffany & Co. The selective retailing group includes the makeup retailer Sephora and the luxury travel retailer DFS, which offers airport duty-free stores and downtown galleria stores in a number of countries. LVMH also owns many famous fashion labels. These labels include Celine, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Marc Jacobs. LVMH has its headquarters in Paris.
