Bernard Arnault Bets on Craftsmanship to Help LVMH Ride Out the Luxury Downturn

Joelle Diderich

Fri, Oct 11, 2024, 6:03 AM 4 min read

Speaking at an event marking the 10th anniversary of the luxury group’s Institut des Métiers d’Excellence, the vocational training program aimed at promoting, enhancing and ensuring the transmission of know-how, Arnault began his speech by quoting French philosopher Denis Diderot, who lauded artisans for their wisdom, patience and mental resilience.

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“At this stage of the company’s development, you have to be patient,” Arnault said. “It’s an absolutely essential quality to get through a troubled economic period and to continue feeling passionate about what makes the group successful, that is to say, the quality of the products.”

Speaking to the crowd gathered at the Grand Rex cinema in Paris for the evening event, which featured personalities including Belgian singer Pierre de Maere, retired basketball player Tony Parker, and Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of womenswear at Dior, the luxury magnate argued that marketing should take a backseat to product.

“We must keep in mind that the long-term success of a group like LVMH is based mainly on what the artisans contribute in terms of quality of detail, and that’s where patience is key,” he said.

“People talk a lot about marketing, but ultimately, marketing is completely secondary,” Arnault continued. “Our future customers should feel drawn to our products because of their perception of the excellence of our craftspeople, and not because we’re trying to reel them in with some classic marketing tactic based on a study of what they want.”

A rendering of the entrance of LVMH's future Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris — A rendering of the entrance of LVMH’s future Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris.

The pep talk came as LVMH unveiled the first renderings of its future Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris and announced that Ramy Fischler has been commissioned to design the dedicated space for craftsmanship, which LVMH plans to open in 2026 in a move designed to give the group a competitive edge amid a shortage of skilled workers.

The house located in the French capital’s 8th arrondissement, a stone’s throw from the Dior ateliers and Avenue Montaigne, will allow visitors to touch and feel the breadth of the 280 skilled trades represented across its 75 brands, which range from Louis Vuitton to Dom Pérignon, Tiffany & Co. and Sephora.

The location will be open to the public as well as provide a physical home for the Institut des Métiers d’Excellence, or IME, which has trained more than 3,300 apprentices in its first decade, of which 70 percent went on to work for LVMH, according to Chantal Gaemperle, group executive vice president of human resources and synergies.

The program is active in eight countries, including France, and is being extended to China, she said at a press conference before the Show Me event.

Looking to the future, Gaemperle said LVMH is considering creating craftsmanship hubs in other parts of the world. “That’s my dream. We’ve even scouted potential locations,” she said.

The executive has also been working to preserve the knowledge of artisans who are ready to retire. “I’ve been working for a year on a library of know-how by reaching out to everyone from perfumers to managers so that before they retire, before they leave, they share a little bit of what they’ve learned,” she explained.

A rendering of a workshop inside LVMH's future Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris — A rendering of a workshop inside LVMH’s future Maison des Métiers d’Excellence in Paris.

Fischler, the designer behind the revamp of the terraces on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, said it was important to ensure LVMH’s craftsmanship center in Paris is not intimidating for young people. He has conceived the six workshops inside the building like boxes housing a microcosm of each profession’s working environment.

“We have to find a balance between a very sophisticated, beautiful setting, but one that doesn’t overwhelm young people and makes them want to discover all these professions and to come and learn them,” he said.

The lobby of the building will feature a tapestry titled “The Wisdom of the Hands” designed by Chiuri and created by the Chanakya School of Craft embroidery workshop in India. Students at the IME are taking part in a design competition for the house’s stained glass windows.

Alexandre Boquel, head of development for LVMH’s Métiers d’Excellence division, said the group has created formal training programs for jobs that were previously taught orally, for example, prototype maker. “That’s how we create a chain of transmission,” he noted.

“Thanks to the variety of professions and the diversity of programs that have been created by LVMH and by these houses, we are the leading trainer for craftsmanship worldwide,” Boquel said. “That’s already a first achievement we’re proud of after 10 years.”

Having started with just 27 participants in its first year, the IME is welcoming 520 this year, with ages ranging from 16 to 58, he said.