LONDON — There are concerns about the future of retail, however French high-end items huge LVMH believes what it will appear like.
“We see the future being two things: being mostly retail stores, because the client experience in a retail store cannot be matched easily online. As of today, I mean, no one has found the sort of miracle formula that would enable clients to enjoy as much online,” Jean Jacques Guiony, primary monetary officer at LVMH, informed CNBC on Monday.
“The second point is also to enrich this experience with online content,” he included.
The coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent stay-at-home orders, has actually caused a substantial rise in online shopping and required numerous merchants to establish their online offerings at a much faster rate. This dynamic has in turn challenged the requirement for physical shops.
However, for LVMH, among the world’s greatest high-end brand names, the online offering is simply “a complement to the physical experience.”
A Tiffany & Co. shop front in Mid-Town, New York.
John Lamparski/SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
Guiony stated that a lot of consumers who go to shops had actually formerly examined the site and might have purchased the products they desired there.
“They get a lot of information, but they come to the store because the store experience is something that cannot be matched on the internet,” he informed CNBC’s Charlotte Reed.
LVMH reported a 17% drop in earnings in 2020 compared to the previous year. The service was affected not just by regional lockdown steps, however likewise by the restrictions on worldwide travel. Other brand names owned by LVMH consist of Moet & Chadon, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior and Bvlgari.
“I don’t know whether we can talk about roaring 20s … the analogy one century after makes me a little bit doubtful, but anyway, I don’t know whether we can talk about that. We can definitely talk about the fact that the business is doing well with most of the client base, be it in Europe, be it in Asia,” Guiony stated. “All in all, frankly, we cannot complain.”
LVMH in 2015 finished the acquisition of Tiffany’s, the precious jewelry brand name, in a $15.8 billion offer.
“The integration of Tiffany is not a six-month job, it’s something that will last for a number of quarters and the objective is not just to integrate, is to develop the business up to the level that we think the quality of the brand could generate, so it is a long-term job,” he included.
LVMH shares are up about 32.8% year-to-date.
