Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based
luxury goods
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
founded in 1988 by
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n businessman
Johann Rupert
Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Af ...
. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jewellery, watches, leather goods, pens, firearms, clothing, and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the
SIX Swiss Exchange
SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other security (finance), securities such as Swiss government bonds and d ...
and the
JSE.
The brands it owns include
A. Lange & Söhne,
Azzedine Alaïa,
Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont.
History
Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who op ...
,
Buccellati
Buccellati Holding Italia is an Italian jewellery and watch company formed by the merger of two previous companies with existing brands ''Mario Buccellati'' and ''Gianmaria Buccellati'', which corresponded to the names and surname of two master ...
,
Cartier Cartier may refer to:
People
* Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player
Places
* Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
,
Chloé
Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creativ ...
,
Dunhill,
IWC Schaffhausen,
Giampiero Bodino Giampiero (often Gianpiero or Gian Piero) is an Italian male given name.
List of people
Giampiero
*Giampiero Albertini, Italian actor
*Giampiero Artegiani, Italian singer
* Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer
*Giampiero Catone, Italian politi ...
,
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary ...
,
Montblanc,
Officine Panerai
Officine Panerai (also known simply as Panerai) is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.
Officine Panerai designs, manufactures and markets watches through authorized dealer ...
,
Piaget Piaget () may refer to:
People with the surname
* Édouard Piaget (18171910), a Swiss entomologist
* Jean Piaget (18961980), a Swiss developmental psychologist
* Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people
* Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986) ...
,
Peter Millar,
Purdey,
Roger Dubuis
Roger Dubuis is a Swiss watch manufacturer of luxury watches based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded by Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias in 1995.
In 2008, the company was acquired by Richemont group.
The Roger Dubuis watches include th ...
,
Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is the second oldest Swiss manufacturer and one of the oldest watch ...
and
Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...
.
, Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. was the sixth-largest corporation by market capitalization in the
Swiss Market Index
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index, which makes it the most followed in the country. It is made up of 20 of the largest and most liquid Swiss Performance Index (SPI) stocks. As a price index, the SMI is ...
. As of 2017, Richemont was the third-largest luxury goods company in the world after
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
and
Estée Lauder Companies.
[Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2019](_blank)
/ref>
History
Johann Rupert founded Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. when he spun off the international assets of Rembrandt Group Ltd. (now Remgro Limited), a South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
-based company founded in the 1940s by his father, Anton Rupert. The division, originally founded on 5 March 1979 as Intercontinental Mining and Resources S.A., was later renamed IMR Group S.A. on 31 March 1987 and finally Richemont S.A. on 17 August 1988. The spin-off was completed on 20 September 1988. The luxury goods
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...
investments of Rembrandt Group combined with Rothmans International
Rothmans International plc was a British tobacco manufacturer. Its brands included Rothmans, Player's and Dunhill. Its international headquarters were in Hill Street, London and its international operations were run from Denham Place in Denham ...
formed the initial group of Richemont subsidiaries.
In March 2007, Richemont and Polo Ralph Lauren Inc. announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, the Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Company SÀRL.
In October 2008, the Group divested all of its remaining interests in the tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
.
, Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. is the sixth largest corporation by market capitalization
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
in the Swiss Market Index
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is Switzerland's blue-chip stock market index, which makes it the most followed in the country. It is made up of 20 of the largest and most liquid Swiss Performance Index (SPI) stocks. As a price index, the SMI is ...
. As of 2014, Richemont is the second-largest luxury goods company in the world after LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
.[European Sales Help Luxury Group Richemont Balance a Decline in Asia](_blank)
/ref>
The compensation of the Richemont group's executives increased by an average of 14% in 2018.
Organization
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. organizes its business activities into three operating divisions: Jewellery Maisons, Specialist Watchmakers and Other Businesses.
Cartier Cartier may refer to:
People
* Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player
Places
* Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
, Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...
, and Buccellati
Buccellati Holding Italia is an Italian jewellery and watch company formed by the merger of two previous companies with existing brands ''Mario Buccellati'' and ''Gianmaria Buccellati'', which corresponded to the names and surname of two master ...
constitute the Jewellery Maisons.
The Specialist Watchmakers group is composed of A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont.
History
Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who op ...
, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary ...
, Officine Panerai
Officine Panerai (also known simply as Panerai) is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.
Officine Panerai designs, manufactures and markets watches through authorized dealer ...
, Piaget Piaget () may refer to:
People with the surname
* Édouard Piaget (18171910), a Swiss entomologist
* Jean Piaget (18961980), a Swiss developmental psychologist
* Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people
* Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986) ...
, Roger Dubuis
Roger Dubuis is a Swiss watch manufacturer of luxury watches based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded by Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias in 1995.
In 2008, the company was acquired by Richemont group.
The Roger Dubuis watches include th ...
, Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is the second oldest Swiss manufacturer and one of the oldest watch ...
and the joint venture with the Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Co.
The Other Businesses division includes Azzedine Alaïa, Chloé
Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creativ ...
, Delvaux, Dunhill, Montblanc, Peter Millar, and Purdey.
Ownership and control
The largest significant shareholder of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. is Compagnie Financière Rupert, a Swiss company that holds shares controlled and principally owned by Johann Rupert
Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Af ...
. Compagnie Financière Rupert owns 522,000,000 Class "B" shares of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., representing 9.1% of the equity and 50% of the voting rights. Johann Rupert and Compagnie Financière Rupert also hold 2,836,664 class "A" shares or "A" share equivalents as of the end of March 2016.[
]
Investments
Subsidiaries
The following companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., unless otherwise noted.
* A. Lange & Söhne — watches; based in Glashütte, Germany
* Azzedine Alaïa — women's fashions; based in Paris, France
* BAUME — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
* Buccellati
Buccellati Holding Italia is an Italian jewellery and watch company formed by the merger of two previous companies with existing brands ''Mario Buccellati'' and ''Gianmaria Buccellati'', which corresponded to the names and surname of two master ...
— fine jewellery and watches; based in Milan, Italy
* Giampiero Bodino Giampiero (often Gianpiero or Gian Piero) is an Italian male given name.
List of people
Giampiero
*Giampiero Albertini, Italian actor
*Giampiero Artegiani, Italian singer
* Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer
*Giampiero Catone, Italian politi ...
— fine jewellery; based in Milan, Italy
* IWC Schaffhausen — watches; based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
* Jaeger-LeCoultre
Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply Jaeger-LeCoultre (), is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in Le Sentier, Switzerland. Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned subsidiary ...
— watches; based in Le Sentier, Switzerland
* Officine Panerai
Officine Panerai (also known simply as Panerai) is an Italian luxury watch manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A.
Officine Panerai designs, manufactures and markets watches through authorized dealer ...
— watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
* Peter Millar — men's and women's apparel; based in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
* Purdey — firearms, clothing, gifts, leather goods, Royal Berkshire Shooting School; based in London, United Kingdom
* Roger Dubuis
Roger Dubuis is a Swiss watch manufacturer of luxury watches based in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded by Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias in 1995.
In 2008, the company was acquired by Richemont group.
The Roger Dubuis watches include th ...
— watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
* Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...
— jewellery, watches; based in Paris, France
* Vendôme Luxury Group, including:
** Baume & Mercier
Baume & Mercier () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1830. It is a subsidiary of the Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont.
History
Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who op ...
— watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
** Cartier Cartier may refer to:
People
* Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player
Places
* Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...
— jewellery and watches; based in Paris, France
** Chloé
Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creativ ...
— women's clothing; based in Paris, France
** Dunhill — men's clothing, watches and leather goods; based in London, United Kingdom
** Montblanc — writing instruments and watches; based in Hamburg, Germany
** Piaget Piaget () may refer to:
People with the surname
* Édouard Piaget (18171910), a Swiss entomologist
* Jean Piaget (18961980), a Swiss developmental psychologist
* Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people
* Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986) ...
— jewellery, watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
** Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is the second oldest Swiss manufacturer and one of the oldest watch ...
— watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
* Watchfinder & Co. — second-hand watches; based in Kings Hill, United Kingdom
Joint ventures
* Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Co. (50%) — watches and jewellery; based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Other investments
* YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP
YOOX Net-a-Porter Group S.p.A. is an Italian online fashion retailer created on 5 October 2015 after the merger between Yoox Group and Net-a-porter Group (NAP).
Yoox was originally founded by Federico Marchetti in Milan in 2000, and Net-a-Porter ...
— ecommerce; based in Milan, Italy.
Former investments
Richemont acquired British clothing retailer Hackett Limited in 1992. On 2 June 2005, Richemont announced its sale to Spanish investment company Torreal S.C.R., S.A.
In 1998, Richemont bought a controlling stake in Shanghai Tang
Shanghai Tang () is a Hong Kong luxury fashion house founded in 1994 by Hong Kong businessman David Tang. The brand is known for its luxury homeware collection and fine bone china. In 1998, Richemont acquired David Tang's controlling stake i ...
. In July 2017, Richemont announced that it had sold Shanghai Tang to a group of investors headed by Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Bastagli.
In 2000, the Group sold its minority stake in Vivendi
Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
, representing its exit from all previous media interests, which had included NetHold
NetHold is a Pay television, Pay TV company based in the Netherlands. As of 1997, the company merged with Canal+, CANAL+ and is directed by Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont.
Foundation
In 1985, Koos Bekker led the founding committee behind M ...
and Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
.
Richemont and Mimi So
Mimi So is a New York City-based American jewelry designer, known for a "distinctive and definitive fashion vibe" and a large celebrity clientele. Her company was founded as a partnership with luxury conglomerate Richemont, which subsequently so ...
formed a joint venture in 2004, Richemont's first investment in an American brand. In 2007, Richemont requested to become the majority partner of the joint venture. Mimi So declined and purchased Richemont's stake in the venture.
In 2008, Richemont spun off all of its non-luxury goods businesses, principally Richemont's stake in British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...
, into a newly formed, separately traded holding company, Reinet Investments S.C.A.
In 2015, the Net-a-Porter Group was merged with the YOOX Group in an all-share transaction. Richemont is the largest shareholder in the enlarged group.
In 2018, Richemont sold Lancel to the Italian leather goods company Piquadro Group.
Website blocking
In October 2014, the first blocking order against trademark-infringing consumer goods was passed against the major British Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s by Richemont, Cartier International and Montblanc to block several domains selling trademark-infringing products.
Notes
References
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External links
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{{Authority control
Luxury brand holding companies
Companies based in Geneva
Holding companies established in 1988
Watchmaking conglomerates
Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland
Multinational companies headquartered in Switzerland
Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange
Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange