LVMH Acquires Bulgari

Earlier today, it was announced that LVMH has acquired a majority stake in Bulgari.

The deal which transfers the shareholdings in Bulgari S.p.A to LVMH was completed last night. 
I for one am very happy for Arnault as he was said to have been slowly courting and wooing the Trapani family, (Bulgari's controlling shareholder), for over ten years. Just last year, the Trepani family said that the company was not for sale.  

What Arnault did next was an interesting move. In the past, LVMH had made most of its acquisitions in cash. I was surprised at Arnault's technique of offering the Trepani family 3.5% of LVMH. The company had never done something of the sort and I think that is what really got the Trepani to finally accept to sell Bulgari to LVMH. All of this means that the Trepani family wants to remain involved in the Bulgari brand and help continue in its success.

For all u finance people, here are the numbers: LVMH will issue 16.5 million shares  for the 152.5 million Bulgari shares (currently being held by the Bulgari family). The Bulgari family will become the second largest family shareholder of the LVMH Group. LVMH will also submit a public purchase offer at the price of $17.18 per share on the shares held by minority stockholders.

Now for the behind the scene details: Paolo and Nicola Bulgari will remain Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, of Bulgari’s board of directors; the deal will allow the Bulgari family to appoint two new representatives to the LVMH board of directors. In addition, Francesco Trapani, CEO of Bulgari, will join the LVMH executive committee and will manage the LVMH watches and jewelry division in the second half of 2011. Philippe Pascal, the current head of the division, will remain on the LVMH executive committee in a different capacity.

Jimmy Fallon Does Sweatshirt Time on The Jersey Floor

You MUST watch this video of Jimmy Fallon spoofing the Jersey Shore.

It is hilarious. Leave it to Fallon to do it just right.

Enjoy!

Click here to see: The Premiere of "Jersey Floor" - Show Clips - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Galliano No-No!

Hi! Just wanted to update you all on the new developments in the Galliano story which I previously blogged about in THIS article.
Well, now Galliano has officially been fired.
I am so glad to hear that the Dior fashion house acted quickly and that so many have come forward to defend Dior's Chief Executive, Sidney Toledano's decision to sack the designer.
Natalie Portman, the always proud Jew and spokesperson for Dior was one of the first public figures to express her disdain for Galliano's behaviour saying: "I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way."
From a legal standpoint, it is a crime in France to incite racial hatred; the statute has been used in the past to punish anti-Semitic remarks. SOS Racisme, the French advocacy group said that it would support legal proceedings if the accusations were confirmed. 
I cannot believe that someone in the public eye like Galliano would make such remarks, knowing how quickly news travels and how making these kinds of statements would affect his career and his life in the fashion scene. We are after all living in an era where videos get uploaded on the Internet faster than they are even created. 
The video of a man who appeared to be Galliano being caught in the act of making anti-Semitic remarks has recently surfaced on the Internet and here it is:

Bulgari MBA...Sign Me Up

CityAM reports that:

Luxury brands are synonymous with great marketing, so I guess this was only a matter of time. The Italian company Bulgari is now the first luxury company to affiliate itself with an MBA program - the Bocconi business school in Milan to be exact. Students will be able to choose the luxury business specialty and will spend 3 months taking classes at the Bulgari HQ in Rome, including a 2 month project at one of the company's global offices.

The CityAM article goes on to state that:
"It makes perfect sense for luxury goods businesses to get involved with business schools. While many Western businesses have suffered since the downturn, luxury businesses, with their growing market in Asia, have proved resilient. The brands too know that they can no longer rely on domestic markets, but need serious business nous if they want to expand into these newly wealthy regions. This phenomenon cannot have escaped the attention of potential MBA’s either; while once they might have looked for a future in finance or consultancy, these days sunglasses or handbags cannot be considered a frivolous career choice.

Professor Valter Lazzari, director of the full-time MBA at Bocconi, says that with Italy’s reputation in the luxury goods sector it is natural that a school might want to focus on it, and like all industries, the luxury sector has peculiarities. “If you price a candy bar, the higher you price it the worse it is for the consumer, but in the luxury industry the opposite, it gives more value for the consumer.” He says that the Bulgari experience could also interest those who want to work in any area of retail, not just the highest end."