BIRKENSTOCK OPTION

Birkenstock, and LVMH and Groupe Arnault is studying its strategic options for the famous sandal brand, including a potential IPO. According to the registration statement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is preparing to introduce itself to Wall Street.

The early buzz is that Birkenstock’s valuation could top $8 billion. Birkenstock is more than a shoe, Oliver Reichert said in a letter included with the registration statement. lt’s a way of thinking, a way of living.”As a brand that has endured for centuries since 1774, Birkenstock is widely revered, resonating with the zeitgeist and even defining it.

On sales of 644.2 million euros, adjusted EBITDA totaled 224.4 million euros. For the first filing on the road to an IPO, many key details were left blank, including the number of shares and price of the offering. The Birkenstock footbed, which hasn’t changed for more than 120 years, is especially well known.

BACCARAT DESERTED BY THE CHINESE

Baccarat is for sale. Tor Investment and Sammasan Capital, the two Hong Kong creditors who became shareholders of the prestigious crystal factory when its Chinese owner disappeared in 2020, have mandated the bank Messier & Associés to find a buyer, according to our information.

Around six to seven contenders are still in the running, according to sources familiar with the matter. Asian and Gulf investors, an industrialist from northern Europe, as well as a Swiss fund and another from the Maghreb.

The glass factory founded by King Louis XV in 1754, however, no longer interests French investors. The French industrial group Chargeurs, which seeks to strengthen its position in luxury, was interested in the deal.

“They found the sellers’ price expectations unreasonable in view of the performance and closed the file this summer,” indicates a source. Since then, its manager Michaël Fribourg has turned to other acquisitions in the luxury sector. Sammasan Capital hopes to raise more than 400 million euros from the sale of the emblematic Lorraine factory.

MARC BOHAN DIES AT 97

The creative force behind Christian Dior’s most iconic collections for three decades passed away on Sept. 6 in Châtillon-sur-Seine, France, at age 97.

The Saint-Nicolas church will hold religious services on Sept. 13. Christian Dior’s founder, Bohan, was Dior’s longest-serving designer. Continue reading

VUARNET AND THE BIG LEBOW-SKI

Vuarnet, the emblematic brand of Roger Pouilloux and Jean Vuarnet, is acquired by LVMH. Vuarnet’s purchase terms and amount are unknown at the moment. But bet 5 years of turnover.

The goal of Thélios, which already produces and distributes optical frames and sunglasses for prestigious brands, including Dior, Fendi, Céline, Loewe, Stella McCartney, Kenzo, Berlutti, Fred and Rimowa, Bulgari or Givenchy, is to restore the mythical splendor of the brand.

When Vuarnet was the heyday of cinema stars, we saw it, for example, on Alain Delon’s nose in “The Swimming Pool” (model 06) or even Jeff Bridges’ nose in “The Big Lebowski”.

It is true that Vuarnet still has a strong image with the public, but it is based on skiing and the mountains. According to Alessandro Zanardo, CEO of Thélios, the company still manufactures mineral glasses in Meaux, in the Paris region, of exceptional quality.

FM

RICHEMONT BOOST HER FAGRANCE BUSINESS

A platform aimed at scaling the fragrance brands in Richemont’s portfolio, Laboratoire de Haute Parfumerie et Beauté, will raise the bar on the company’s beauty business.

Boet Brinkgreve has been appointed CEO of the division and reports to Johann Rupert, the company’s chairman.

Richemont said Brinkgreve will help the six houses already involved in fragrance “reach critical mass in this highly competitive field.”

Among Richemont’s fragrance brands are Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chloé, Dunhill, Alaïa and Montblanc. Cartier is developed by an in-house perfumer, while licensing partners include Interparfums and Coty.Is interparfums in danger?

A GIFT OF “SILK

Antoine Arnault, who had been appointed head of communications and image for the LVMH group (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), is truly a master of communications. Surfing on the Restos du Cœur for 10 million euros is certainly a stroke of genius. And all the while, the Insoumis are getting in their faces comments like “Did they donate any of their parliamentary ‘alimony’ to the Restos du Coeur?”

The group’s success, more powerful than that of oil company Total last year in the CAC 40 stock market rankings, imposes its strategy ahead of the Pinault group, whose Lord says: “the only diploma François has for assets is his driver’s license.” Let’s hope that by digging deeper into his differentiation from the other groups, he doesn’t end up finding oil! He might even sell it to us for perfume.

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EVENTS AROUND THE BOOK

For twenty years Jean-François Spricigo has developed an artistic language of rare power, mixing different photographic writings often nourished by dialogue with writing, sounds, video or staging. At the foundation of this radical work, the intense relationship with nature which animates the artist, refuting any hierarchy between forms of life: “Humbly, I observe nature and recognize it as the only tangible norm in the face of the changes in our societies” . As the only place, also, of possible reconciliation between the imaginary and the real.

The book Wild Prayer, published in 2021, testified to the strength and integrity of this journey.

We the horizon will remain alone (title to be read in two groups of words), is a story of recent travels on the island of Reunion, in Mayotte and in Guyana, for an intimate quest for the sensitive, thus marking a new stage in the work of the artist. Inspired by the fierce and indomitable dimension of overseas coastlines, this new book relates, in words and images (but also in sounds during a show), the memories of human and animal encounters, and echoes of ever-renewed wonder at the immensity of life.

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KERING BEAUTY

The French luxury house announced in early February that it had taken its beauty activity back in-house, and appointed Raffaella Cornaggia as CEO of Kering Beauté.

Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Pomellato, and Qeelin asked her to develop a beauty team.

In late June, Kering Beauté made the bold move of acquiring Creed, the oldest existing high-end niche fragrance house. The deal was reportedly worth 3.5 billion euros.

During a call regarding Kering’s half-yearly 2023 results, François-Henri Pinault said Creed had revenues of around 250 million euros in 2022, with a very high EBITDA margin.

Creed was acquired after Kering chased Tom Ford International, which was ultimately acquired by Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., for $2.3 billion. A reported 1 billion euros was paid by Puig for luxury brand Byredo, which Kering was interested in acquiring.

FRAGRANCE HERITAGE A NICHE MARKET

The Cherigan Paris 1929 fragrance brand was discovered by Luc Gabriel in 2016, 87 years after its launch and more than a half century after its demise. The name cheri, French for darling, and gant, French for glove, intrigued him. Cherigan was part of the Art Deco period, which Gabriel adores.

As the executive learned, the brand had created iconic perfumes such as Chance, Parisienne, Bleu Impérial and Fleurs de Tabac. It owned a store on Paris’ Champs-Élysées. In the U.S., Australia, and France, Gabriel found some vintage Cherigan bottles and sampled their scents.

In faraway lands such as Cuba and the U.S., Cherigan was highly regarded by jetsetters. The label went under in the 1960s, so Gabriel purchased the rights from various people before relaunching it in 2022.

It’s spreading to other domains. Beauty brands with a sense of place and history are becoming increasingly popular. Ditto for make-believe heritage brands emitting a true identity. Continue reading

FLAG CHEAP FOR DIOR

As temples of luxury as well as tourist attractions, Dior Paris 30 Montaigne and Tiffany & Co’s Landmark boutique in New York set the tone. In order to increase traffic and productivity per square foot, luxury boutiques must now become “even more attractive.”

The Avenue Montaigne complex, which opened in March 2022, includes several restaurants, a museum, and a hotel suite. in addition to the home, beauty and fine jewelry departments. This Dior project is unique in that it combines a museum, several leisure spaces, a “total immersion” Dior and above all an immersion in your wallet.

In Shanghai’s Plaza 66, Dior occupies four floors. Tokyo, with 234 luxury stores, tops the list, followed by Seoul with 221, Paris with 165, Hong Kong with 148 and New York with 128. London, Shanghai, Beijing, Osaka and Taipei round out the top 10. Continue reading