Bernard Arnault promotes his daughter Delphine in a reshuffle at LVMH

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LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault has promoted his daughter Delphine to run fashion brand Dior as part of a reshuffle at the world’s largest luxury group.

Management changes announced Wednesday also saw rising star Pietro Beccari, who has run Dior since 2018, named the new CEO of flagship brand LVMH Louis Vuitton.

The moves are the latest in a planning spree from the 73-year-old Arnault, who is looking to succeed the leadership in the conglomerate he built to become Europe’s most valuable company.

Next month Picari will succeed veteran CEO Michael Burke at Louis Vuitton, which has transformed the bag and handbag maker into a powerhouse that accounts for nearly two-thirds of LVMH’s annual operating profit.

Bicari also had a solid career at Dior, LVMH’s second-biggest brand, where he helped triple annual sales to around €10 billion in just four years and catapulted the Paris-based house into the top echelons of luxury brands in terms of sales. Sales and growth.

Delphine Arnault, the eldest of Arnault’s five children, will take over as CEO of Dior after being No. 2 at Louis Vuitton since 2013.

Three of Bernard Arnault’s sons, Antoine, Alexandre and Frédéric, have executive roles within the group.

From a governance point of view, another important change was made this summer in the Financière Agache family holding company, which owns a 48 percent stake in LVMH. Agache turned it into a société en commandite, a privileged legal status in France used by a handful of family-owned companies like Hermes and Michelin to help protect them from takeover.

This step was also seen as a way to facilitate future rule within the family and to regulate ownership in the coming decades between the five heirs and their descendants.

“Succession planning in strategic roles has been key to the success of LVMH’s key brands over the past 20 years, so the current management changes are significant,” said Thomas Chauvet, Citi’s Wellbeing Analyst.

The changes come as LVMH has so far enjoyed resilient demand for handbags, watches and high-end fashion even as the global economy slowed last year. Its shares fell 7 percent in 2022 amid a sell-off in global equities, compared to a 10 percent drop for the sector.

But the reopening of the Chinese market, the second largest luxury market by sales after the United States, which began in December when strict Covid-19 controls were lifted is expected to boost luxury sales next year.

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