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Luxury group LVMH will change the leadership of its wines and spirits division amid a wider reshuffle of top management at the group controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault.
LVMH’s chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony, will take over as chief executive and president of wines and spirits division Moët Hennessy from February 1. The division has suffered the most as global demand for luxury goods ebbed, falling 8 per cent on an organic basis in its first nine months of this year, the sharpest decline across all divisions.
He will replace Philippe Schaus, who after two decades at the group will “begin a new chapter in his career, focusing on non-executive roles”, LVMH said on Thursday.
Alexandre Arnault, Bernard Arnault’s 32-year-old son, will join Guiony as deputy chief executive at Moët Hennessy from the start of February. Alexandre Arnault has spent the past few years in the US as a senior executive at jeweller Tiffany, which LVMH bought for $15.8bn in 2021.
All five of Arnault’s children have operational roles in the group, and any changes are closely observed for indications of who might one day take over from their 75-year-old father. Alexandre Arnault along with his younger brother Frédéric, the 29-year-old head of LVMH’s watchmaking group, joined the board earlier this year, following in the footsteps of their two elder siblings and leaving only the youngest, Jean, without a seat.
The changes take place within the context of a wider reorganisation of the group, as an older generation of executives close to Bernard Arnault step back and his children take on more prominent roles in the family-controlled group.
Charles Delapalme, a senior executive at the group’s second biggest brand Dior, will take over as chief executive of cognac brand Hennessy, which has been hit by weak demand in China and overstocking in the US following a Covid-era rise. He replaces Laurent Boillot, whose new responsibilities the group said would be announced at a later date.
LVMH reported a bigger than expected fall in sales due to weak consumer demand in China in its most recent quarter, as the downturn for luxury brands in the world’s second-biggest economy deepens.
Analysts have cut their full-year estimates for much of the industry after a difficult quarter. Citi noted that both fashion and leather goods, LVMH’s biggest division and the industry’s bellwether, and wines and spirits were experiencing “greater than expected demand pressures in Asia” as it cut its guidance in October.
Struggling Gucci owner Kering has warned its full-year operating profits would halve this year compared with last, while high-end Hermès has continued to outperform the industry.
Guiony will be replaced as chief financial officer by Cécile Cabanis, his deputy, who had been expected to step into the role since she joined LVMH from investment manager Tikehau Capital earlier this year.
Sephora’s chief executive Guillaume Motte will join the executive committee, a day after the group announced the abrupt departure of its longtime human resources director and executive committee member Chantal Gaemperle “to pursue new projects”. Gaemperle had been at LVMH for 17 years.
