Last week it became known that the daughter of rich man in the world of Bernard Arnault (Bloomberg estimates his net worth at $178 billion), 47-year-old Delphine Arnault will become the chief executive of Dior. Shortly before that, the holding company Christian Dior SE was headed by her brother Antoine Arnault. The news continues to be vigorously discussed in the press, because these personnel changes have given a new impetus to talk about the struggle for the inheritance between the children of Arno. Which of them will ever replace Bernard Arnault himself as chairman and chief executive officer of the LVMH conglomerate remains an open question. The 73-year-old billionaire extended his tenure last year. At the same time, the personnel reshuffle suggests that Arnault wants to increase family control over LVMH. British edition The Guardian ponders what the appointment of Delphine Arnaud means now.
Journalists pay attention to the special symbolism of this appointment. Dior was the first house that Arnault bought in 1984, so in terms of tradition and emotionality, the brand certainly occupies a special position. The position at Dior is Delphine’s first position of this caliber, in addition, she became the first woman to head this French fashion house. She replaced Pietro Beccari, who has led Dior since 2018 and quadrupled sales to 8.7 billion euros. He, in turn, became chief executive of Louis Vuitton, succeeding Michael Burke. Louis Vuitton now accounts for more than half of LVMH’s profits. Estimated sales last year amounted to 21.8 billion euros.
Previously, Delphine served as CEO of Louis Vuitton’s main division. According to Arnaud, under Delphine’s leadership, “the demand for Louis Vuitton products has increased significantly, which has allowed the brand to regularly set new sales records.” Dolphin is the eldest of Arno’s children, he also has four more sons, but it is the daughter who is often called the main heiress. She even got a nickname for it. In the press, they also began to call her “the she-wolf in cashmere” – by analogy with the well-known nickname of Bernard Arnault himself, who is called the “wolf in cashmere” for his character and business acumen. Which indirectly speaks in favor of the fact that the majority believes that Dolphin will inherit not only this characteristic, but the entire empire.
However, not all so simple. All Arno’s heirs are closely involved in the family business. Antoine Arnault, second oldest child of a billionaire and husband Natalia Vodianova, last year was appointed CEO of the Christian Dior SE holding, through which the Arno family controls LVMH. He replaced the experienced top manager Sidney Toledano. Thus, Dolphin and Antoine find themselves at a similar high level, which only enhances the intrigue with the main heir.
29-year-old Alexander Arno governs jewelry brand Tiffany & Co., which Bernard Arnault bought two years ago for $16 billion. Frédéric Arnault, 28, is the CEO of the watch brand TAG Heuer (he took up the position in 2020). And 24-year-old Jean Arnault has been working as director of marketing and development for the watch division of Louis Vuitton since 2021. At the same time, Bernard Arnault himself recently changed the corporate structure of LVMH in order to extend his tenure as head to 80 years or more.
Appointment Dolphin may be important in another aspect. Women are increasingly rising to the top in an industry usually dominated by men.
“You hear all the time that Dior is being swept off the shelves, perhaps because women designers understand what women want to wear and what they are going to buy,” the fashion designer says. journalist Amy Odell.
“Nothing is done in a hurry at LVMH. The drivers of demand in this industry have been the same for 20 or 30 years – global economic growth, the wealth effect, travel around the world and Chinese consumer demand in the industry. Everything is thought out because there is family ownership, and they probably considered a lot of candidates and decided that she was the most qualified to run the brand,” says Thomas Chauvet, luxury goods analyst.
The appointment of Delphine Arno is also being discussed in telegram channels.
“Delphine is immensely talented in business management and has good taste. All Louis Vuitton collaborations with artists are her work, as well as the LVMH Prize for young designers. But Antoine Arnault, son and second contender to the throne, should not be discounted, because in addition to well-established business processes, he has a trump card up his sleeve – his wife, the beautiful Natasha Vodianova,” they wrote in the channel “Evil Pussy Fashion Chronicles”.
However, there is another opinion. On the sidelines of the fashion industry, they say that the Arno family just does not like Vodianova.
Former Vogue editor Ksenia Solovieva shared some details of the personal life of the heiress Arno. Solovieva said that Dolphin’s first marriage to the heir of Italian winemakers Alessandro Gancia was in front of everyone starting from the wedding that got on the cover of Paris Match, but lasted only five years. Since then, she has not particularly exposed her personal life for show.
“With their current partner, the telecommunications tycoon, co-owner of Le Monde Xavier Niel, they live very quietly. For a long time, Delphine did not even confirm that he was the father of her daughter (now there are already two children),” wrote Solovyov.