FRANCE. Luxury group LVMH has bought subsidiary DFS Group’s interest in Parisian downtown store La Samaritaine as part of the travel retailer’s ongoing restructuring.
Majority La Samaritaine shareholder LVMH confirmed the news on an earnings call yesterday after the publication of its 2024 results.
As revealed in an exclusive Moodie Davitt Report interview with Chairman and CEO Ed Brennan last November, DFS Group has commenced a triple-pronged restructuring, reinvention and revival plan, anchored by an intensified focus on its Asia heartland.
Commenting on LVMH’s performance, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said: “There are a number of non-recurring items. First of all, the restructuring of DFS in Italy [as reported, DFS is to cease trading at its upscale Fondaco dei Tedeschi store in Venice this year -Ed] and in France with the sale of La Samaritaine to LVMH with significant losses [the others the withdrawal from Stella McCartney and the divestment of Off-White].”
Asked about La Samaritaine by Le Monde economic journalist Juliette Garnier, who referred to the store showing losses of €90 million, LVMH Chairman & CEO Bernard Arnault replied: “I have no idea where that figure comes from. It’s entirely preposterous. The operation and the management was mainly focused on Chinese customers. And we are taking it out of DFS Group to put it in LVMH to have a broader opening and broader customer base. But no, it’s never been €90 million losses.”
Commenting on DFS’s challenges in its Macau and Hong Kong heartlands, Guiony emphasised the current foreign exchange strains on the business, noting: “Most of that business is in Hong Kong and Macau. And the currency is pegged to the US Dollar – high compared to the Renminbi.” ✈
