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“In business, you have to learn to be patient!”

Bernard Arnault

QUICK FACTFILEFrench businessman

the world's 7th richest personthe founder, chairman, and CEO of LVMH

turned Vuitton and Dior into highly profitable global businesses

BUSINESS AREA

• LVMH - consisting of over fifty luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi

• LVMH has had a strong growth dynamic since its creation in 1987

• The Group is active in five different sectors: Wines & Spirits Fashion & Leather Goods Perfumes & Cosmetics Watches & Jewelry Selective retailing

FAMILY

born into a family of entrepreneursat age 7 he visited building sites with his grandfatherhas been married twice to:Anne Dewavrin, Hélène

Mercierfive children:Delphine Arnault Gancia, Antoine

Arnault, Hélène Mercier, Alexandre, FredericArnault hopes his three younger sons will step into

the business

EDUCATION

graduated from the Maxence Van Der Meersch High Schoolwas admitted to the École Polytechnique - graduated with an engineering degree in 1971joined his father's companyin 1979, he succeeded his father as president of the company

FIRST BUSINESS SUCCESS

• setting up LVMH enabled him to be familiar globally

• At 35, he bought Boussac, a bankrupt French textile group which included Dior

• Arnault quickly expanded Dior to include new brands: the fashion house of Christian Lacroix and Celine

• in 1989, Arnault accomplished his objective of creating the world's leading luxury products group

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Major Business Succeses

• Arnault got his big break in 1984, when he took over a textile conglomerate that included Dior.

• In 1989 he won a fierce battle for control of family-run Louis Vuitton

• Now that growth is picking up, gossips in the fashion world wonder when he'll start buying again. -By

Peter Gumbel

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Business Philosophy

• “I think in business, you have to learn to be patient. Maybe I'm not very patient myself. And I think what

I've learned the most is be able to wait for something and get it when it's the right time.”

• "When something has to be done, do it! In France we are full of good ideas, but we rarely put them into

practice" ( Forbes , June 2, 1997).

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Personality traits

• "He's an asset shuffler, a raider, a French Donald Trump“- said a former officer of Louis Vuitton

( BusinessWeek , July 30, 1990).

• "What I think is so brilliant about Bernard is that he realized that to revitalize this boring, dusty, fuddy-

duddy old house, he had to go with the shock of the new. Most businessmen wouldn't understand. They

wouldn't have that sensibility and that flair“ (Washington Post , April 28, 2002).

• A very good pianist

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Worldwide Recognition• One of the largest luxury groups in the world,

alongside Swiss luxury giant Richemont and French based PPR Group.

• Bernard Arnault is the 7nt richest person in the world,having a net worth of approximately $27.5 bil

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Illustrative Quotes

• “What we do in our group is the opposite of the bad effects of globalization. We produce in Italy and in France and we sell to China, when usually it's the

opposite.”

• “Luxury goods are the only area in which it is possible to make luxury margins.”

OPINION

I. I believe that Bernard Arnault became a successful business man because of his hard work, because he was confident in his ability of making good decisions and because he knew that becoming successful meant risking, when he bought a bankrupt company. -Simona Voica XII A

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II. In my point of view,Bernard Arnault succeeded thanks to three facts: 1.his background

2.his intelligence

3.luck

• http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6eqf2_lvmh-film-2008-hd_creation

(follow this link - movie about history of LVMH)

Georgiana Cornea XII A