Bernard Arnault, the head of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury goods empire, announced on Thursday that he had nominated two more of his children to sit on the company board, a move to cement his family’s control of Europe’s most valuable conglomerate.
Those appointments, subject to the approval of a 15-person board, essentially lock in four of Mr. Arnault’s five children as the chief decision makers of the company, furthering a succession strategy that Mr. Arnault, France’s richest man, has meticulously mapped for years in a bid to extend LVMH’s legacy into the next generation.
Mr. Arnault, 74, made the announcement as he shared LVMH’s 2023 financial results. Despite economic slowdowns in Europe, the United States and China, the company’s biggest markets, sales for the year were up 9 percent, to 86.2 billion euros, or $94 billion. Net profit rose 8 percent to €15.2 billion — a record for the company.
“Our performance in 2023 illustrates the exceptional appeal of our brands and their ability to spark desire, despite a year affected by economic and geopolitical challenges,” Mr. Arnault said. Sales were driven by clothing and leather goods, as well as perfumes, cosmetics, watches and jewelry.
Mr. Arnault nominated Alexandre Arnault, 31, who is executive vice president of product and communications at Tiffany & Company, and Frédéric Arnault, 29, chief executive of Tag Heuer. They would join two older siblings: Delphine, 48, who is also chairman and chief executive of Christian Dior Couture, and Antoine, 46, who runs multiple LVMH brands and is in charge of the group’s image and sustainability efforts. The youngest sibling, Jean, 25, is Louis Vuitton’s watch director.
“As I have always said, LVMH is a family-run group,” Mr. Arnault said in a statement. He said the two brothers “will each bring interesting perspectives.”
