Antoine Arnault, the 36-year-old son of LVMH Moët Hensessy Louis Vuitton head Bernard Arnault, will spend more than €100 million ($137 million) to build men’s shoe maker Berluti “into a full apparel and accessories house” focusing on menswear,
the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
Berluti’s first New York store is scheduled to open in early February, the article said.
LVMH hopes that male consumers will help it overcome slowed growth owing to falling sales at Louis Vuitton and decreased spending in China, the article said.
Antoine Arnault told the
Journal t
hat when he was a Vuitton executive traveling to China, he noticed that men there spent more than their global counterparts on fashion.
Bernard Arnault acquired Berluti, then a small men’s shoe brand, in 1993. “His son saw the potential to stretch it from its roots making colorful loafers priced in the thousands of euros to making classic suits and casual wear with modern cuts,” the
Journal
article said.
Antoine Arnault became Berluti’s CEO three years ago, the article said. (Source:
Wall Street Journal,
Jan. 30, 2014.)
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