CNBC International Live · Oct 16, 2026
With Antoine Arnault, Image and Environment Director at LVMH and Member of the LVMH Executive Committee
Antoine Arnault, LVMH's image and environment director, told CNBC International's Charlotte Reed that LVMH plans for the next decade, not the next set of results, even with sales in China under pressure.
Most listed companies in a slowdown look for something to lift the next quarter. Antoine said LVMH's family ownership frees it from that.
"We don't have to fight for the next week or the next month or the next quarter."
Antoine is a son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and sits on the group's executive committee. He spoke at the launch of Les Journées Particulières, LVMH's open-house event.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 3 arguments that matter.
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Key Takeaways
LVMH is selling craft, not marketing, through a rough period for luxury
Made-to-measure Berluti shoes take more than a year, and customers accept the wait
LVMH's ties to China go back about 40 years, but the market is harder now
Family ownership lets LVMH plan for the next generation rather than the next quarter
LVMH says it never stages a stunt to save a quarter
1. Craft Over Marketing
Antoine said LVMH brought Les Journées Particulières forward a year because its own staff asked for it.
"The artisans and the employees themselves came to us and asked, 'Come on, let's move it up.'" — Antoine Arnault
The timing matters because luxury is in a slump. Antoine called the sector "a zone of turbulence" and presented the event as proof that the business rests on how products are made, not on advertising.
Berluti's made-to-measure shoes take more than a year, and Antoine said customers accept the wait
"To get your made-to-measure pair of shoes at Berluti, you wait more than a year. And customers don't care." — Antoine Arnault
2. Forty Years in China
China is where that patience gets tested. Antoine said LVMH's connection there goes back about 40 years, though the market is "a little more difficult" today.
LVMH was among the first luxury groups to enter China
"We were the first group, or maybe one of the very first, to set foot in China." — Antoine Arnault
3. The Next Generation
Antoine tied the group's response to China to how it is owned. Because his family controls LVMH, he said, the group faces no pressure to chase a short-term fix and can wait for quality to pay off over decades.
LVMH refuses to stage a short-term stunt to rescue a weak quarter
"We always obsess about quality... never trying to create a stunt to save the quarter." — Antoine Arnault
Antoine described the long horizon as an advantage public-market peers lack.
"We fight for the next decade or the next generation, and it's a real chance that we have." — Antoine Arnault
Bonus Insights
LVMH shares are up about 40% this year, CNBC noted in its wrap-up of the interview
China is weighing on the fashion and leather goods division, while fragrances are doing better.
Antoine's case is that LVMH can ride out a weak China because the family that controls it is measuring results in generations, not quarters.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
LVMH (The luxury group Antoine helps run; its shares are up about 40% this year, per CNBC, with China weighing on fashion and leather goods)
Les Journées Particulières (LVMH's open-house event, moved up a year at employees' request)
Berluti (The LVMH shoemaker whose made-to-measure customers wait more than a year)
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