LVMH expands its portfolio of watch suppliers. The French luxury conglomerate has added the watchmaking firm L’Épée 1839 to its portfolio of luxury brandsfor the division of the firm headed by Frédéric Arnault, youngest son of Bernard Arnault.
L’Épée 1839 was created in the 19th century by Auguste L’Épée, a Swiss watchmaker who moved to France to open his own workshop manufacturing watch components. The company was a pioneer in the production of music boxes and then went on to manufacture travel watcheswhich became a fashion item among the authorities of the time.
Based in Delémont, the watchmaker was purchased in 2008 by Swiza, a watch manufacturer founded in 1904, which is dedicated to the manufacture of pieces for third parties, as well as for its eponymous brand. The watch brand’s factory has more than eighty designers, engineers and mechanics, among other professionals. Employees are expected to continue in their jobs..
This is the first purchase made by LVMH’s watch division, created in January. Over the years, The conglomerate has acquired other brands in the sector such as the South Korean ceramic manufacturer Ecco in 2023 and sphere provider ArteCad in 2011.
Over the years LVMH has acquired other watch manufacturers such as Ecco or ArteCad
Born in 1987 as a result of the merger of Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, LVMH is the largest luxury conglomerate in the world. In the 1990s, led by Bernard Arnault, LVMH led the lucrative marriage between historic luxury houses (most of them controlled by the family until then) and capital.
In January, LVMH empowered Frédéric Arnault as CEO of the watch division, a newly created position. The newly created position involves piloting Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer. Arnault passed the baton from his previous role as CEO of TAG Heuer to Julien Tornare, who had been CEO of Zenith since 2017.
The group is immersed in a reorganization of its watch divisionwith key new hires including Carole Forestier-Kasapi at Tag Heuer, but also Edouard Mignon, who led research and development and became chief operating officer of LVMH Swiss Manufactures.
LVMH closed the 2023 financial year on the rise, with sales growth of 8.8% compared to 2022 and billing 86,153 million euros. However, this percentage is well below that reached at the end of 2022 when the increase was 23%. LVMH’s net result was 15,174 million euros, below the forecast of reaching 15,720 million euros.
