LVMH

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LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.A.

Type	Société Anonyme (S.A.)
Founded	1987
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Bernard Arnault (Chairman & CEO)
Industry	Luxury goods
Revenue	$16.84 billion US (2005)
Employees	59,840 (2004)
Website	http://www.lvmh.com/

LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.A. (Euronext: MC, OTCBB: LVMUY), usually shortened to LVMH, is a French holding company and the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate. It is the parent of around 60 sub-companies that each manage a small number of prestigious brands. These daughter companies are, to a large extent, run autonomously. The group was formed after mergers brought together champagne producer Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, a leading manufacturer of cognac. In 1987, they merged with fashion house Louis Vuitton to form the current group.

The group is partly owned by the Christian Dior group, and Bernard Arnault is Chairman and CEO of both companies. His successful integration of various famous aspirational brands into the group has inspired other luxury companies into doing the same. Thus Gucci (now part of the French conglomerate PPR) and Richemont have also created extended portfolios of luxury brands. The oldest of the LVMH brands is wine producer Château d'Yquem, which dates its origins back to 1593.

In 2001 De Beers launched a joint venture with LVMH in order to establish De Beers as a retail brand.

LVMH created a prize called the "Prix Science pour l'Art", which nominated several scientists who would later receive the Nobel Prize. The last Prize was awarded in 1997 to Rolf Landauer.

1 Financial Data
2 Corporate structure
3 Subsidiaries
4 External links

**Financial Data in euro millions**
Year	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Sales	12 693	11 962	12 623	13 910	15 306
Ebitda	2 300	2 796	2 745	3 382	3 646
Net Result share of the group	556	723	1 010	1 440	1 879
Net Debt	6 455	5 427	5 100	4 318	3 400

Source :'OpesC'

LVMH is based in Paris, France. The company is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index. As of 2003, the group had a turnover of approximately 12 billion euros with a net income of 2 billion euros. The group currently employs 56,000 people. 40% of LVMH's staff work in France. LVMH operates around 1,500 stores worldwide. Its current business plan aims to tightly control the brands it manages in order to maintain and heighten the perception of luxury relating to their products. For example, Louis Vuitton products are sold only through Louis Vuitton boutiques found in upmarket locations in wealthy cities or in concessions in other luxury goods shops (such as Harrods in London). This practice contrasts greatly with less exclusive brands which can be bought in shopping malls around the world.

LVMH's brands include: