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LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is exploring options for its Marc Jacobs fashion brand amid interest from potential buyers, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The fashion giant has been working with advisers to study possibilities for Marc Jacobs after getting approaches from suitors, the people said. The brand could attract bids from other consumer companies as well as private equity firms, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information was private.
The review is in the early stages and LVMH hasn’t made a final decision on how to respond to the interest. The luxury conglomerate could continue growing the business itself, according to the people.
A representative for LVMH said the company strongly denies it’s considering a sale of Marc Jacobs, declining to comment further.
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It’s relatively rare for LVMH to divest any of the brands in its portfolio. One of the last major disposals was in 2016, when it agreed to sell Donna Karan and DKNY for an enterprise value of $650 million. Any deal would help LVMH to capitalise on a years-long turnaround of Marc Jacobs and allow it to offload a brand in the affordable luxury category in order to focus on higher-end offerings.
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs, 61, was an artistic director for more than a decade at the Louis Vuitton brand, which is LVMH’s biggest profit contributor. The New York native’s namesake brand was founded in 1984 alongside business partner Robert Duffy. LVMH owns about 80 percent of the brand, while Jacobs and Duffy own the remainder.
Marc Jacobs sells products like The Tote Bag that retail for €550 ($588) in France, much lower than the €1,500 ($1,603) price tag for a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag. It ventured into personal care in 2007, debuting the Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume with the famed floral cap and subsequently launched a beauty collection in 2014, according to its website.
LVMH has restructured Marc Jacobs in recent years, which led to a simplification of its product offering. The profitable brand recorded about €600 million ($642 million) of sales in 2023, one of the people said. LVMH doesn’t break down financial performance by label.
Paris-based LVMH is the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate, having amassed 75 labels ranging from Tiffany & Co. to Christian Dior and champagne maker Dom Perignon.
By Vinicy Chan, Pamela Barbaglia, Angelina Rascouet and Crystal Tse
Disclosure: LVMH is part of a group of investors who, together, hold a minority interest in The Business of Fashion. All investors have signed shareholders’ documentation guaranteeing BoF’s complete editorial independence.
