LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, left, and Christian Dior CEO Delphine Arnault, center, visit the Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys Seoul store at Shinsegae Department Store in central Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, visited Korea on Monday for the first time in three years, where he is expected to meet key retail partners and review the group’s expanding luxury footprint in one of its fastest-growing markets.
His first stop was the Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys Seoul store at Shinsegae Department Store, accompanied by his daughter and Christian Dior CEO Delphine Arnault as well as Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari.
The LVMH chief met with Shinsegae’s executives before touring the store, which was closed to the public for the day, allowing him to review the layout and operations privately. He also visited other LVMH brands in the department store, including Fendi, Celine and Tiffany.
The six-story flagship store, which opened last November, is the largest Louis Vuitton store worldwide, combining retail with exhibition, dining and brand history content. The space is designed to showcase Louis Vuitton’s craftsmanship and culture along with its products, reflecting the group’s push to deepen engagement with Korean consumers.
During his visit, Arnault is also expected to visit Lotte Department Store’s main and Jamsil branches, as well as another Shinsegae store in Gangnam District, suggesting a comprehensive review of the country’s major luxury retail channels.
He last traveled to Korea in 2023, when he met top retail executives, including Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, raising expectations of another round of high-level talks this time as well.
The visit comes as LVMH intensifies its focus on key Asian markets amid a broader slowdown in global luxury demand.
Korea has emerged as a key growth market for luxury brands, reaching an estimated $5.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $8.5 billion by 2034. Louis Vuitton Korea notably reported record sales and profit last year, outperforming rivals Chanel and Hermes in operating profit in the country.
By contrast, LVMH has been tightening its portfolio elsewhere, with the group reported to be reviewing the disposal of fashion label Marc Jacobs, its stake in Fenty Beauty and the U.S. winery Joseph Phelps Vineyards. It has already exited investments tied to Off-White, Stella McCartney and its DFS travel retail businesses in China.
Source: Korea Times News
