The Tamesis
“Imagination is more important than knowledge,” LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault quoted Einstein at the group’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, while wearing a Louis Vuitton Tambour Einstein watch. Taking place at the Louvre Carrousel in Paris, Arnault discussed key topics including the impact of the crisis in the Middle East, the reception of Jonathan Anderson’s first collection at Dior and CEO succession planning.
During the meeting, Arnault dismissed speculation about the sale of the Paris-based Samaritan department store. The department store reopened in 2021 after a 16-year renovation, but footfall was lower than expected. “Of course, we want to keep it. It’s a phenomenal asset and we’ll make it work,” he said. “and [Le Bon Marché chair and CEO, who is also leading La Samaritaine] Patrice Wagner and his team, I believe we will accomplish something amazing. “
The shareholders’ meeting comes at a time when LVMH’s share price has fallen about 25% since the beginning of the year. The world’s largest luxury goods group – with sales of 80.8 billion euros in 2025, down from 84.7 billion euros in 2024 – is not immune to the broader luxury goods downturn or global uncertainty. In the first quarter of 2026, LVMH sales increased by 1%, while sales of fashion and leather goods fell by 2%. But Arnault reiterated his faith in the luxury goods industry and in his five children, who each took turns speaking about their respective fields: Jean, watch director at Louis Vuitton; Frédéric, chief executive of Loro Piana; Alexandre, deputy chief executive of Moët Hennessy; Delphine, chairman and chief executive of Christian Dior Couture; and Antoine, LVMH’s image and environment director.
The CEO seemed in good spirits, telling a 25-year-old shareholder: “Congratulations on buying shares. It’s a good time. I do the same, just on our own scale.” Earlier this year, the Arnault family raised its stake in LVMH to more than 50% of the group’s share capital.
Here are the key points.
‘Everything depends on how the crisis in the Middle East unfolds’
The luxury goods industry is feeling the effects of the conflict in the Middle East. Although there were differences among companies, the war caused luxury revenue growth to fall by about 1 to 2 percentage points in the first quarter. LVMH reported that the ongoing conflict caused the group’s organic growth to fall by about 1% in the first quarter.
“The crisis has halved our expected first-quarter growth,” Arnault noted. “In the short term, everything depends on how this crisis unfolds,” Arnault told shareholders. “It could turn into a global catastrophe with extremely serious and very negative economic consequences – in which case, who can say how 2026 will unfold? Or it might be resolved faster in some way, which we all hope for, even if it doesn’t look easy; in which case business will gradually return to normal. This is quite unpredictable.”
He continued: “If the second scenario becomes a reality, I believe that during the year we will see a recovery in growth across our activities. Otherwise, we will have to face a crisis. We have been through this before and it is very likely that we will gain market share again, just like we did in 2025.”
Arnault was also asked to share his views on the Chinese market, where luxury brands have been facing sluggish consumer demand amid economic uncertainty, rising price sensitivity and a growing preference for domestic brands.
“China is a very important market for us,” Arnault said. “This is a market where customers are becoming more and more familiar with products and their requirements are becoming higher and higher. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for LVMH It’s a great market for the group because a few years ago it was easy to go into China, put a brand on a product and sell it – it worked anyway. But that’s no longer the case. Today you need to deliver quality, heritage, the right location and the right team, and all of that requires a huge effort. It’s the second largest market after the United States, so I’m still confident that rather than us focusing too much on the development of this market, the prospects for our group remain strong.”
