Last month I talked a bit about the two biggest Watch Holding Groups. The two of them are considered the largest and the most important ones in the whole watch industry: Richemont and Swatch. Actually, watch enthusiasts still debate about which one is the most valuable. While people keep commenting that the Swatch group is more affordable and a little bit more versatile, the Richemont is thought to be more expensive and at a higher level of luxury. Also, another aspect setting these two groups apart is that both of them target different audiences. While the Swatch focuses predominantly on the large market, the Richemont targets a restrained, yet high-status public.
Personally, I don’t totally agree with this statement. Both of the groups own phenomenal watchmaking brands that target different groups of customers. Just like Swatch, Richemont also provides different “grades” of luxury watches, being available for all types of customer segments.
Either way, this time I would like to focus on the third big Watch Group. It’s about the LVMH. This is the third and the last group from the Swiss watchmaking industry. All that remains uncovered refers to either independent watchmaking brands or large Japanese groups. I will talk about them in one of the following articles. Meanwhile, let’s discover together what LVMH means and what watchmaking brands belong to this group.
What does LVMH actually mean?
The naming of the group is not incidental. It is actually an abbreviation of the ”Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy”. Statistically speaking, it is not only the third most valuable Swiss watch group but also the most valuable luxury company in the world. This conglomerate focuses on producing, selling, and managing all types of luxury goods, not limited to watches only.
The person running the whole business is Bernard Arnault, who is currently one of the richest men on the planet. Many people criticize him roughly. People actually criticize the way he built his luxury empire during the 90s. Some rumors say that he was aggressively buying little luxury companies from families running them and this way, built his luxury conglomerate.
On the other hand…
Arnault is sure to have done it all right, as he never obliged anyone to sell the family businesses to him. Either way, such a model of raising a huge business seemed highly fruitful. So fruitful that even other groups including Richemont have taken the model over. Currently, this holding group runs 75 brand houses, otherwise known as “Maisons”. The curious thing is that these brands function independently from one another. Yet, they are closely monitored by the Arnault CEO and his managing team.
As the name suggests, LVMH comprises different industries. Moet and Hennessy refer mostly to spirits and wines, while Louis Vuitton refers to all that means luxury fashion. That’s the reason why the holding group is the most valuable luxury company in the world: it fuses different industries.
Going even more specifically…
Unlike Richemont and `swatch groups, the LVMV operates with a broader spectrum of businesses. While the first two mostly focus on luxury goods like watches and jewelry, the latter extends far beyond that. Here is what LVMV covers:
- -newspapers and hotels;
- -wine and spirits: Moet & Chandon, Glenmorangie and Cloud Bay, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon;
- -cosmetics and perfumes: Benefit, Acqua di Parma, Fenty, Sephora;
- -leather goods and fashion: Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, obviously;
- -jewelry and watches. I will cover those below.
As far as you can see, this corporation keeps under its wing all that is synonymous with “luxury”. Since the watchmaking branch is what interests us the most, let’s see now what brands refer to this imposing company.
LVMH Watchmaking Brands
Of the 75 Maisons that LVMH operates, 7 of them refer to watchmaking brands. All of them are different in their “luxury” standard, which means that one of them is a mid-range brand, one is a fashion watches brand, four out of seven refer to high-end brands, and the last one produces high-end jewelry-like timepieces. Here they are…
TAG Heuer
To be honest, I was shocked to know that TAG Heuer is an LVMH-operated watchmaking house. In my perception, this brand should be independent, as it has all the skills and attitudes to exist on its own. Either way, it belongs to the LVMH group for a pretty long period of time and is the one that offers mid-range pieces. If you are familiar with this brand, you probably know that its distinctive feature is its racer style. The brand produces about 400,000 timepieces a year, these being available at a price range between 1,000 and 10,000 USD.
Not only does this brand design phenomenal timepieces, but it also has a tight “relationship” with the motor racing industry. It frequently partners up with the most fabulous car-making brands, most of which are closely related to racing competitions.
BULGARI
The history of the Bulgari brand is pretty compelling. It dates back to 1884. Though, it didn’t make watches at first, until 1977 when it designed its first Bvlgari Bvlgari timepiece. The watch sales rate of Bulgari was never as impressive as it is now. This is due to the brand partnership with the spectacular brand Gerald Genta. The name might sound unfamiliar to you, but all you have to know about it is that the CEO of Gerald Genta is actually the designer of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. And that’s not all.
This designer is actually the one who also created the concept of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. And it’s needless to remind you how successful these two models currently are.
Going back to Bulgari, its iconic modern collection is the Octo line, offering spectacularly thin timepieces. Apart from the incredible thinness, the octopus range is special through its impressive case shape and remarkable comfort at the same time. Currently, the brand sells about 44,000 timepieces a year, being one of the most favorite watchmaking brands for women and not only.
Zenith
This is another watchmaking brand that I always thought was independent. Turns out that it also belongs to the LVMH group. More than that, it is actually the oldest watchmaking house that LVMH holds. Zenith first appeared in 1865. And the great side of this brand is that it still produces its in-house movements. This sounds even more fabulous when comparing it with other watchmaking brands from the Swatch holding group, for instance. In this context, many of the Swatch brands work on a different model: they outsource movement production to external companies. The reason for that is to reduce costs, as making in-house movements is a pretty expensive pleasure.
As most watchmaking brands have remarkable events to boast about, Zenith boasts of being on Felix Baumgartner’s wrist when he broke the sound barrier for the very first time in human history.
Hublot
While Zenith is the “Big Brother” in the LVMH, Hublot is the smallest one. This brand first established its foundation in 1980. I’ve written a couple of curious things about this impressive watchmaking brand, so here it is where you can find out more if you are eager to.
The truth is that Hublot appears to be one of the closest “friends” of sports. Heroes from different sports like football, tennis, and basketball frequently wear Hublot watches on their wrists. And that’s not only because of their sporty look but of their practicality and versatility as well.
Louis Vuitton
As you can expect, the Louis Vuitton watches are also part of the LVMH holding group. You might already know that, actually, leather goods and fashion clothes are the primary vectors of the brand. Still, with the levels it achieved in its segment, the brand can afford to juggle with all that has any tangent with luxury the way it pleases.
In 2008, the CEO of the brand decided to abstract from traditional watchmaking. As a result, it partnered with the La Fabrique du Temps watch manufacturer with the aim of fusing its skills and abilities. In consequence, the watch community began seeing more impressive high-quality timepieces from the popular brand. Of course, Louis Vuitton preserves its specific style in the watches it releases. Most of them are expressive, full of chromatics, and uniquely attractive through their unrepeatable design.
Final thoughts
Here they are, all the watch members of the LVMH corporation. I’m always wondering about how such huge companies manage all the things. How is it even possible to handle all the subdivisions and segments? There must be highly trained experts at the head of all subdivisions for the whole organism to function flawlessly.
As for the watches, one thing is for sure: LVMH group watchmaking brands are quite specific. They provide a special type of luxury that is different from the luxury provided by the competitors.
Now that you already know what brands each of the three holding groups own, which one do you think is more valuable? I know that the answer is hard to define, because, just like I told you earlier, all of them own some spectacular brands that simply write history in the horological realm. but, at least, which one do you resonate the most with?