(News1)
Bernard Arnault, chairman of the world’s largest luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH), visited South Korea for the first time in three years and made Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch in Sogong-dong, central Seoul, his first stop.
The visit reflects his effort to personally inspect and further target the Korean market, which is emerging as a strategic stronghold amid a rebound in luxury goods sales led by major Korean department stores.
Arnault visited Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys Seoul, located inside The Reserve at the department store’s main branch. He was accompanied by Delphine Arnault, his eldest daughter and chief executive officer (CEO) of Christian Dior Couture.
Delphine Arnault is a key executive within the LVMH Group and also visited Korea alongside the chairman in 2023.
Park Joo-hyung, CEO of Shinsegae Department Store, personally guided Arnault and his entourage.
After exchanging greetings with Park and Pietro Beccari, CEO of Louis Vuitton, who had arrived earlier, Arnault toured the store’s exterior while listening to explanations about the venue.
He then looked around the interior spaces one by one.
Louis Vuitton Visionary Journeys Seoul is the largest Louis Vuitton store in the world.
Opened in December last year, the venue is an experiential retail space combining fashion, art, and cultural content. LVMH regards it as a key hub for expanding its presence in the Korean market.
Spanning six floors, it features not only displays of Louis Vuitton products but also experiential spaces introducing the brand’s history and craftsmanship, along with restaurants and cafés.
Arnault reportedly spent over three hours at the store. As it was the department store’s regular closure day, he was able to inspect store operations and related matters in a relatively quiet environment without regular shoppers, sources said.
Afterward, Arnault visited Lotte Department Store‘s main branch in downtown Seoul and Jamsil branch in southern Seoul, as well as the Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch in southern Seoul.
At each location, he toured the stores of major LVMH brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, and Celine.
When Arnault visited Lotte Department Store’s Jamsil branch, he was accompanied by Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Shin Yoo-yeol, his eldest son and vice president of the Future Growth Office at Lotte Corp.
Last year, Louis Vuitton Korea posted record-high earnings.
Its sales rose 6.1 percent year on year to 1.85 trillion won ($1.25 billion), while operating profit surged 35.1 percent to 525.6 billion won.
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