LVMH will still make acquisitions. And, if the general manager Toni Belloni says so, it is to be believed. The French luxury group continues to look to Italy, thanks to its consolidated experience with brands and companies from Bel Paese. But it will not buy AC Milan, as has been insistently said for over a year. Belloni (in the photo) intervened during the Fashion & Acquisition market organized by Il Sole 24 Ore. On the strength of the latest quarterly report, the group also said it was calm on Chinese issues.
LVMH will still make acquisitions
Experience, Belloni’s premise, shows that LVMH knows how to buy Italian companies without distorting them: “Offices have remained where they were, the soul has remained here in Italy”. Rather, the French group made a change of gear on the accounts: “For example – he continues -, in the case of Fendi and Bulgari, profitability has improved by six times”. LVMH intends to move again: “We have a lot to do, given the maxi Tiffany operation. But we are always looking for new opportunities”. Certainly, they will not invest in Milan: “I am exhausted of denying this operation – Belloni shields himself -, which has attracted more interest than all the others we have done. Then I’m a Juventus player and I should resign!”.
The group’s strength
The data for the first quarter, on the other hand, confirm LVMH’s strength. Which can not only look at the scenery with serenity, as Belloni affirms. But it does not either have to fear the pitfalls where other brands have slipped. This is the case with the controversy over Xinjiang cotton, which cost Burberry a slice of popularity in China. During the conference call with shareholders, the financial director of the group, Jean-Jacques Guiony, explained that for LVMH the People’s Republic is not a problem, but remains “an opportunity: we are very satisfied with the activity we carry out there – these are his words by WWD -. We believe it is a complex country, like any other, but we are not particularly worried that something bad could happen there”.
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