Kings On The Catwalk: Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton Affair

Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh. Kings on the Louis Vuitton and Moet-Hennessy Affair. London, Chapmans, 1992. 15.5 cm x 23.5 cm. 275 pages. Original softcover. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Includes for example the following: The Hotel Intercontinental in Paris, July 1990 / Arnault's Rivals / The Men in Suits / Fighting over Lacroix / Goodbye, Madame Celine / Bernard Arnault the Property Developer Bought Dior / The Perfumed Honeypot / The Veuve Clicquot Affair / The Infamous Bonds etc. In 1988, the French Louis Vuitton and Moet-Hennessy companies agreed on a merger which created the biggest luxury goods company in the world. Veuve Clicquot and Mercier champagne, Hennessy cognac, Parfums Christian Dior and the famous Louis Vuitton luggage were among a portfolio of world-class brands. At the time, the merger was hailed as a brilliant strategic move delivering to this day an immensely impressive profits stream. Within weeks, however, there were bitter fights in the boardroom, in the courts, in bankers' offices, in the Bourse and in the newspapers. And when Guinness plc, with its internationally high profile and whose fortunes have also been dramatically transformed after its boardroom battles, became a major shareholder in LVMH a new and intriguing British dimension was added.