LVMH 2020 . C h a i r m a n s m e s s a g e
6 7
RESIST
Seize the initiative . That was my mindset as the effects of the crisis started to become apparent in early 2020, and I did what I could to imbue the whole Group with this fighting spirit. One year on, I am proud to say LVMH has faced up with remarkable resilience to the unparalleled public health crisis that has swept around the world; the commitment shown by all of our teams has been unfailing, and I would like to recognize and thank them for their dedication. Of course, the pandemic has affected all of our activities, albeit to varying extents over different periods and regions. But thanks to the mobilization of their teams, our Maisons responded swiftly, remained focused and kept their strong sense of initiative as they took effective measures delivering immediate results. While the halt to international travel severely affected some of LVMH s activities, particularly hotels and travel retail, Asia bounced back strongly in the second half of year, at the same time as the United States was also seeing a significant upturn. Business and geographical diversification, which are such an important priority for me, played a powerful role in attenuating the impact of the shocks. But most of all, our major brands extended their lead, just as they did in 2008-2009: their high-quality products, bound- less creativity and strong drive to innovate shone through in these troubled times and are the gold standard for our customers, who are looking for products that stand the test of time. Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, in particular, performed remarkably well in the second half of 2020 thanks to the success of their iconic models and new additions. Likewise, Hennessy cognac showed good resilience, reinforcing its status as the world s leading premium spirits brand. All in all, our Group was able to overcome the situation thanks to a combination of key strengths: effective investment decisions in recent years, which have expanded our range of Maisons and products, and have driven a major shift to digital technology across our activities; and a healthy geographical mix alongside a decentralized organization, underpinned by a highly diverse range of talents, backgrounds and cultures, fostering entrepreneurial spirit and agility: qualities that the events of the past year have if proof were needed proven indispensable.
S E I Z E T H E I N I T I A T I V E
C R I S E S A R E D E C I S I V E M O M E N T S
W H E R E S T R AT E G I E S A R E P U T T O
T H E T E S T A N D T R E N D S A C C E L E R AT E .
T H I S O N E I S N O E X C E P T I O N . A S T H E R E S U LT S
T H E LV M H G R O U P H A S R E P O R T E D F O R 2 0 2 0
D E M O N S T R AT E , T H E E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L S P I R I T,
C R E AT I V I T Y A N D S E N S E O F R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y
T H AT D R I V E U S W E R E V E R Y P OW E R F U L F O R C E S
W H I C H K E P T U S O N T R A C K D U R I N G
T H E PA N D E M I C . 2 0 2 1 L O O K S S E T T O B E A Y E A R
O F R E C OV E R Y, A N D O U R G R O U P I S R E A DY.