In this global chessboard of luxury, the Lord often advances his pieces with silent finesse. In Japan, the group’s strategy is not to acquire local brands and fold them into its vast portfolio. The move is subtler: take minority stakes, observe, support, and capture growth without direct exposure. “Much like Sony in the United States at the end of the 1950s: the Japanese firm first analyzed the American market before establishing its brand there for the long term, a process of implantation that would unfold over several years.”

This is not a strategy of acquisition but a strategy of influence. In this way, the group places its pawns in a market estimated at nearly $35 billion, now in full recovery. Yet Japan is not a territory to conquer like an emerging market. The history of luxury is already deeply rooted there. From the earliest decades of the international expansion of French fashion, Jacques Mouclier paved the way by multiplying his journeys. More than 500 trips are recorded, as many back-and-forth voyages that helped firmly anchor French fashion and luxury in the archipelago.

Japan is therefore a mature market, but one that is regaining momentum. Japanese consumers remain among the most demanding in the world, placing particular value on quality, authenticity, and their relationship with a brand. LV seems to have embraced a strategic certainty: to reach the best Japanese clients, it is also necessary to rely on local brands.

Taking stakes in these houses without assuming control offers several advantages. The operation is relatively inexpensive, limits risk, and allows the group to observe market developments up close. If growth materializes, the stake can become extremely profitable. In short, rather than buying entire kingdoms, the Lord sometimes prefers to plant a few well-placed flags, a form of capital diplomacy that resembles an art of the deal (very much in vogue), the discreet charm of the French polytechnicien, patience above all, yet guided by a vision that is potentially ever more lucrative.

FM