Vendôme Luxury Group
- See Also: Place Vendôme
Vendôme Luxury Group was a group of luxury goods manufacturers from 1993 through 1998, when it was dissolved into parent company, Richemont.
History
Cartier Monde was formed in 1979 as a holding company for the various Cartier businesses. In 1988, it acquired controlling interest in Piaget and Baume & Mercier, becoming a major luxury watch concern. Richemont was already a minority shareholder in Cartier Monde, as was Rothmans International, a Richemont subsidiary. Rothmans at that time held an interest in Alfred Dunhill, Montblanc, and Chloé. Richemont strengthened its interest in Rothmans the following year.
In October 1993, Richemont separated its tobacco and luxury goods businesses into Rothmans International and the newly-created Vendôme Luxury Group, respectively. Richemont still controlled both businesses, completely buying out Rothmans in 1995 but not acquiring all shares of the Vendôme businesses until 1998. In 1996, Vendôme purchased Vacheron Constantin, and the company added Lancel and Officine Panerai the following year.
Vendôme ceased to exist as an entity as Richemont bought out other partners in 1997 and 1998, and Richemont began divesting of its Rothmans interest the following year. By 2007, Richemont held only a minority interest in Rothmans and had focused instead on luxury goods from the Vendôme side.
Timeline
- 1979 - Cartier Monde is formed
- 1988 - Cartier Monde acquires Piaget and Baume & Mercier
- 1993 - Vendôme Luxury Group is formed, including Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Montblanc, Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloé, Sulka, Hackett, and Seeger
- 1996 - Vendôme acquires Vacheron Constantin
- 1997 - Vendôme acquires Officine Panerai and Lancel; Richemont begins buying out other stakeholders
- 1998 - Richemont acquires complete control and dissolves Vendôme