Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/01/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Below is a story from "The New York" times regarding LVHM's strategic future. I swear, I did not make up the "Falic Group." Honest! Buzz Hausner ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- January 25, 2005 LVMH Sells Fashion House to Falic Group By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 2:49 p.m. ET PARIS (AP) -- LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA has sold its Christian Lacroix fashion house to U.S.-based Falic Group, a spokeswoman for the French luxury goods giant said Tuesday. LVMH spokeswoman Florence Scheller said the deal ``confirms LVMH's strategy of concentrating on its star brands which have the most growth potential.'' The group's most profitable brands include Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Scheller refused to disclose the financial terms of the deal. LVMH has been disposing of its less profitable brands for some time and had already sold U.S. cosmetics brands Hard Candy and Urban Decay to the Florida-based Falic Group, which has interests in the fashion, luxury goods and duty-free retailing sectors. But the sale of Christian Lacroix is a big step for LVMH's chairman and controlling shareholder Bernard Arnaud, who helped found the label together with its namesake designer in 1987. It also comes at a time when many fashion houses are struggling to make money from their expensive and original haute couture ranges. Scheller declined to say what if any guarantees the deal included for Christian Lacroix's haute couture production. A person familiar with the sell-off talks said Falic made Lacroix an offer to remain at the label and continue designing haute couture but said the offer had yet to be accepted and terms negotiated. ``The financial conditions that Christian Lacroix demands will be an important element of the negotiation,'' said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``Either way (the Falics) want the brand, with or without the haute couture,'' the person said. Tuesday's announcement came hours after Lacroix presented his Spring-Summer haute couture collection in Paris. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top