The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
PARIS, France — LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA signed an accord with Google Inc. to tackle the advertising and sale of counterfeit goods online, ending a legal dispute between the two companies.
The agreement “paves the way for greater cooperation towards a safer and more engaging digital environment,” LVMH vice-president Pierre Gode said in an e-mailed statement.
LVMH had accused Mountain View, California-based Google of violating its trademark rights by selling protected words as keywords that then link users to websites selling counterfeit items when they search under the French company’s brands. Google in 2010 allowed the practice, following a European Union court ruling, bringing the company’s policy in Europe in line with company rules in about 190 countries.
The agreement is the second truce the world’s largest luxury-goods company has announced in as many days. LVMH agreed to distribute its stake in Hermès International SCA to shareholders and institutional investors, following intervention by a French court, it said yesterday. The move ended a four-year battle after the maker of Krug champagne and Hublot watches started building the holding without Hermès’s knowledge.
By Andrew Roberts; editors: Celeste Perri, Anthony Aarons.
The designer has always been an arch perfectionist, a quality that has been central to his success but which clashes with the demands on creative directors today, writes Imran Amed.
This week, Prada and Miu Miu reported strong sales as LVMH slowed and Kering retreated sharply. In fashion’s so-called “quiet luxury” moment, consumers may care less about whether products have logos and more about what those logos stand for.
The luxury goods maker is seeking pricing harmonisation across the globe, and adjusts prices in different markets to ensure that the company is”fair to all [its] clients everywhere,” CEO Leena Nair said.
Hermes saw Chinese buyers snap up its luxury products as the Kelly bag maker showed its resilience amid a broader slowdown in demand for the sector.