Richemont invites LVMH and Kering to create new online store
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The chairman and CEO of Richemont, Johann Rupert, has invited LVMH and Kering to create a new online luxury retail store to compete with Amazon.
Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Luxury event in Monte Carlo, Rupert said that he had spoken to Bernard Arnault CEO at LVMH, which houses brands such as De Beers and Bvlgari, and Kering which owns Gucci, about investing in the newly combined Yoox/Net-a-Porter online fashion retailer.
Earlier this year, Richemont agreed to sell its online retail brand Net-a-Porter to Italy’s Yoox, creating YOOX/Net-a-Porter, which had combined annual sales of €1.3bn (£957.2m) and two million customers in 2014.
Richemont still owns 50% of the Yoox/Net-a-Porter group, however its voting rights will be capped at 25% in order to preserve the company’s independence.
Rupert said: “I was speaking to Arnault, I was speaking to Kering. We need a platform that is big enough for the luxury goods industry.”
“I want to create a platform that is open to everyone, it is up to [LVMH and Kering] now. I think it is too big a game for any company to dominate.”
