LVMH’s Bernard Arnault Makes Surprise Visit to Beijing
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SHANGHAI — Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, landed in Beijing on Tuesday, visiting key retail locations in the country’s capital city.
For his first post-pandemic China visit, Arnault made stops at SKP Beijing, China World Mall and WF Central in downtown Beijing and conducted store visits at LVMH brands such as Dior, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Loro Piana, Fendi and Bulgari.
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According to social media posts shared on Xiaohongshu, the social-commerce platform, Arnault was accompanied by his daughter, Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture; his youngest son, Jean Arnault, director of marketing and development, Louis Vuitton watches, and other top executives at LVMH.
According to Xiaohongshu, Arnault spent a particular amount of time at Dior boutiques. He also made a quick stop at Hermès‘ SKP Beijing store.
The Arnault entourage also stopped at The Espace Louis Vuitton in Beijing, a cultural and art space adjacent to the China World Mall that opened in 2017.
An LVMH spokesperson declined to comment on Arnault’s China itinerary, but it is believed the LVMH chief will travel to Chengdu, then Shanghai, both key retail hubs for the luxury goods conglomerate in China.
In April, Arnault and senior members of the LVMH management team met with Wang Wentao, China’s Minster of Commerce, in Paris. Arnault revealed that LVMH will participate in the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai later this year. Wang expressed his satisfaction with the strength and diversity of the world’s largest luxury group’s commitment to China, praising the “many commercial and cultural contributions” made by various brands under the group.
Arnault’s China visit comes after a series of high-profile trips made by luxury executives to the country in recent months. Last Feburary, François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, became the first luxury executive to visit China since the country reopened last December.
Arnault’s expected China visit was first reported by Reuters earlier this month.
China’s post-COVID-19 recovery helped lift LVMH’s first-quarter revenue by 17 percent. Asia, excluding Japan, registered 14 percent growth in the first quarter. Despite a swift rebound for the first half of 2023, an impending slowdown in the market meant that luxury players will continue to court big spenders in a bid to sustain the high level of growth seen during the past decade.
Louis Vuitton and Dior, two of the largest brands at LVMH, have been revamping their existing flagships and opening up exclusive salons to better serve super VIPs in China.
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