“Just for this once, I will not be talking about a record year,” said Bernard Arnault during the presentation of the LVMH group’s 2024 annual results. In fiscal 2024, the group in fact reported a 17% drop in net profit, down to €12.55 billion, and a 2% downturn in revenue, to €84.7 billion (while organic growth was 1%). But Arnault said he was confident, underlining the positive results posted by LVMH’s top labels, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, the improvement observed at Tiffany, as well as Sephora‘s remarkable growth. Elements that are expected to allow the group to look to 2025 with a little more optimism.

“We do not believe there is a structural crisis,” echoed group CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony. From the outset, LVMH’s top executives pointed out that 2025 “started pretty well,” as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany recorded double-digit growth in January. Of course, the year is only a few weeks old and, with regards to Louis Vuitton, its performance was fuelled by the recent collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, but the early figures were seen as encouraging.

Arnault emphasised the positive results generated by Louis Vuitton, notably highlighting the success of the temporary Louis Vuitton store that opened in New York in November, replacing the label’s local flagship, whose renovation will take several years. “The temporary store is twice as big as the previous permanent one, but it’s always busy. Since its opening, it has generated more than double the revenue of the previous store,” he said. Arnault made clear that Louis Vuitton, “isn’t a fashion label. It’s a leather goods maker, a travel specialist, a house of culture and poetry, in which fashion, which I introduced in the 1990s, is something of an accessory.”

LVMH’s Fashion & Leather Goods division closed 2024 with revenue of €41 billion, down 3%, with organic revenue down 1%. In Q4, it lost 1% in like-for-like terms. The group did not provide results for individual labels, but Arnault also dwelt on Christian Dior, saying it is “France’s main fashion house, owned by a French group. Among its competitors, it’s the house that achieved the best results in 2024. In an increasingly difficult business environment, it’s the house that performed best.”

In 2025, Dior will reopen its 57th Street store in New York, and is also about to open in Beverly Hills. “We have the hope and conviction that 2025 will bring to the fore Dior, haute couture, and Louis Vuitton too,” said Arnault. On Friday January 31, Dior announced the departure of Kim Jones, the creative director of its menswear collections, suggesting major changes may be on the cards at the top of Dior’s design studio, even if Arnault insisted it is important to “maintain enduring relationships” with designers and collaborators. “Continuity is indispensable,” he said.

Perfumery retailer Sephora was also cited for its outstanding performance. Since it became part of LVMH in 1997, Sephora has grown from revenue of approximately €100 million to one that is “more than 10 times higher,” noted Arnault, without disclosing the retailer’s actual result.

LVMH’s press conference was also the opportunity for the group to assess jewellery brand Tiffany & Co., which it acquired for just under $16 billion (€13.4 billion) in 2021. Tiffany & Co.’s sales soared in the year after the acquisition, but they have since slowed down, and the US brand’s management has suffered from negative publicity following recent media reports. According to LVMH, Tiffany posted record results in 2024 at its flagship store in New York, known as the Landmark, whose upgrade required an investment of over $350 million.

“In the fourth quarter, organic revenue growth was 9%, which isn’t so bad,” said Arnault, adding that “Tiffany & Co. was a sleeping beauty. I don’t think we made a bad deal. It’s America’s premier luxury brand.” To rouse the sleeping beauty from its slumbers, LVMH was forced to “part ways with a number of people and retailers” whose performance wasn’t up to scratch.

In Q4, organic sales for LVMH’s Watches and Jewellery division increased by 3%, while Tiffany’s grew by 9%. In addition, “the brand’s revenue has doubled since the acquisition, and jewellery sales have grown fourfold,” according to Arnault. “The Landmark is LVMH’s top luxury boutique. Of course, we still have a lot to do. Our strategy is to develop iconic products generating fast-paced growth. New openings are also on the cards. This requires investment, but every time we open or renovate a store, its revenue increases by 25%,” said Arnault. 

The LVMH boss also talked about diversifying in the hotel industry. “It’s an interesting area which is linked to our business as manufacturers of luxury products, insofar as we produce luxury stays. We started from scratch a decade ago with the Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, in France. It is now the most luxurious hotel chain in the world.”

“This doesn’t mean that we are going to invest a lot in it, and that it’s as profitable as Louis Vuitton, Dior or Bulgari. It’s interesting because it’s the same environment. It’s luxury as an experience as opposed to products. But it needs plenty of investments, usually long-term, which are generally sound investments, but must be undertaken sensibly. It’s a good way to diversify, though it doesn’t have the same potential as a Louis Vuitton,” concluded Arnault.

Finally, the other area on which LVMH is planning to focus is the geographical rebalancing of all its labels, as indicated by Guiony. At the group level, 25% of revenue is generated in the USA, 25% in Europe and 28% in Asia, while the remainder is divided between Japan and the Middle East. “Our efforts must now be focused on a better balance for each label, which means having a foot in Asia, one in the USA and in Europe. Something which isn’t always the case,” said Guiony.