National Tide 1980.

The Avenue de Sèvres is an important street in Paris, as well as a vibrant and charming street that attracts tourists and local residents with its unique charm and rich experience.

This street is home to the famous Le Bon Marché department store, a historic and popular shopping mall that offers visitors a wealth of shopping options.

This street is also surrounded by a strong artistic atmosphere. There may be galleries, art exhibitions, etc. nearby, allowing tourists to feel the artistic charm of Paris while shopping.

In addition, this street is connected to other famous attractions and streets in Paris, such as the Champs-Elysees, providing tourists with more options for sightseeing.

But more importantly, LVMH's headquarters is also located on this street.

House number 38, a six-story building with a history of more than 100 years.

Although it has risen and fallen several times, it has always been part of the city’s unique and unifying aesthetic, maintaining the style and tradition of “old money”.

Like most of the old buildings in Paris, the exterior of this building is made of pure stone.

But unlike the simple doors and windows of earlier periods, the bow windows, the cast iron and frosted glass doors, and the colorful carvings on the balcony fences make this building's exterior style and building materials show the artistic style left over from a special era, as well as the abundant financial strength that symbolizes the golden age of capitalism.

Moreover, unlike the United States, which is full of skyscrapers, the best floors of traditional French architecture are the lower floors, and height is not considered beautiful.

Quite the contrary, these Parisian buildings get lower in height as you go up.

Because in the past, the top two floors of every building were used by servants.

So when it comes to LVMH’s headquarters, it’s no surprise that the first floor is designated as a basement store and exhibition hall for selling and displaying the company’s physical products.

The second to fifth floors above the physical store are used as the main office area by LVMH.

The next floor up and the top attic are used for storage and sundries, and even as a rest and dining area for employees.

Because of this, LVMH's meeting room is located in the office area on the third floor.

On October 1987, 10, the LVMH Group's third quarter performance announcement meeting was held here.

Normally, this should be a normal routine meeting.

In terms of the content of the meeting, it is just a matter of going through the process of announcing the financial data and publishing it to the public.

However, when the directors arrived at the meeting, they soon discovered something very unusual.
Because before they entered the room, they saw that someone had set up guard posts at the entrances at both ends of the conference room corridor. A total of six security guards were responsible for verifying the identities of visitors and prohibiting unauthorized persons from disturbing them.

Such security standards are usually only seen in extremely important meetings, and they immediately sensed something unusual.

And then when they entered the venue, this feeling was further deepened.

Because in today's meeting, in addition to these board members, there were also a few unfamiliar outsiders.

In particular, among these strangers, except for an Asian man whom no one had ever seen, the other two were actually a Pierre Cardin master who is quite famous in the French fashion industry, and the eldest son of the former chairman of the board, Alain Chevalier.

For this reason, the directors of the LVMH Group had an even more mysterious feeling and sensed that something big was going to happen today.

So much so that before the meeting, the atmosphere in the conference hall, which was more than 200 square meters, became unusually dull and serious.

Everyone who arrived at the venue either showed surprised expressions or looked at each other, then sat down quietly.

The people in the room only dared to discuss the matter in whispers with their companions sitting next to them.

This and the bustling and noisy scene on Safeer Street outside the window clearly formed two completely different worlds.

That was not all. When the last missing people walked in together before the meeting started, everyone was shocked.

Because not only did the group's chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault appear at the meeting on time, but also Henri Lacamier, who had been expelled from the board of directors by him himself, appeared with him.

At this point, even though they were proud, they did not make any specific statement.

But from the two different expressions and demeanor, there is a clear contrast in their mental states.

And Bernard Arnault, in an almost humble manner, respectfully invited Henri Lacamier into the meeting room first in front of all the board members.

Everyone present has seen this and it is enough to realize one thing - the board of directors of LVMH Group must have changed again!

As expected, the meeting of this day should have been chaired by Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the group company according to convention, but he wanted to hand over the power as soon as he opened his mouth today.

After looking around at all the participants, Bernard Arnault gave the following opening remarks: "Gentlemen, after I took over the LVMH Group, after eight months of operation, I regretfully discovered that I seemed to be extremely lacking in relevant industry experience and knew very little about the business of this company. The so-called artistic talent and talent are not what I possess. Although the LVMH Group has achieved some small results under my management, the current company's operating model seems to have deviated more and more seriously from the spirit and culture inherited by brands such as LV, Hennessy, and Moët. Therefore, due to personal reasons and considerations for the future development of the LVMH Group, in the spirit of protecting the brand style and being responsible to the majority of shareholders who have purchased the group's shares, I have decided to officially withdraw from the board of directors of the LVMH Group from today. This is certainly not the result I originally expected, but in view of my personal incompetence, I also apologize for the troubles I have brought to the group and everyone present. Next, we still invite Mr. Henri Lacamier, who is more experienced and creative, to preside over the meeting. Let us welcome him back to the board of directors."

There is no need to elaborate on the shock brought by this passage. Just from the absolute silence in the conference room that lasted for a full two minutes, one could sense the turmoil in the participants' hearts.

What’s especially special is that the first round of applause was led by Bernard Arnault with both hands.

He then stood up and gave up his position as chairman of the board to Henri Lacamier.

Anyone who knows him a little would undoubtedly be shocked by how servile he has become today compared to how domineering and arrogant he was last week.

I had to think quickly to imagine what his actions today meant.
There is no doubt that this represents a complete reversal of the outcome of the battle for the company's equity, with the original loser Henri Lacamier turning defeat into victory.

And all this is definitely closely related to the stock market crash that just happened, but the key question is...it's only been a few days?

You know, the former chairman who just stepped down owned two listed companies, and he was in control of both of them a few days ago.

Even if such a disaster happened, he shouldn't have lost so completely in such a short time, right?

What's more, such an outcome is not just about money.

Based on the board members' respective understandings of Bernard Arnault, their biggest consensus is that this guy is absolutely arrogant and has a very high opinion of himself.

Normally in the company, no one dares to do anything contrary to his opinion, and even if they offer friendly suggestions, they have to be careful about the way they speak.

On the contrary, although Henri Lacamier is persistent and stubborn, his arrogance is more due to his blind narcissism from his family background. In terms of the weakness of his character, he does not have the ambition and perseverance of Bernard Arnault.

So it was not easy for someone like him to make the wolf admit defeat.

As for the fact that he could accept the defeat in such a humiliating way and actively welcome the winner, it was even more difficult. It was like a miracle.

So what happened behind the scenes? What conditions did they use to achieve this? This has become something that almost everyone is eager to understand.

However, for all the members of the board of directors, it seems that there is no need to spend time thinking about anything at the moment.

Henri Lacamier, who was handsome and elegant, also stood up and nodded politely to the participants.

Then he walked to the "throne" and sat down without any hesitation.

Not only did he complete the handover of power between the "new king" and the "old king" amid everyone's applause.

He also immediately introduced the new situation faced by the group company and promulgated the latest national policy after his "ascension to the throne".

Its weight and impact are far beyond what the board members could imagine.

Of course, to some extent, it also explains some of the doubts in everyone's hearts.

"First of all, I have the honor to inform you that since Mr. Bernard Arnault has decided to withdraw from LVMH, there are some new changes in the company's shareholder rankings."

As he spoke, he took out some documents and handed one to each person.

"According to these data, you can see that of the 43.5% of shares that Bernard Arnault originally held, 34% belonged to the joint venture between him, MH and Guinness, 5% was registered in the name of Dior Fashion, and the rest of the shares were originally in his personal name. Now, both the shares in the name of Dior Fashion and his personal name have been sold by him."

"That is to say, Mr. Bernard Arnault currently only represents 34% of the shares, and he has personally promised to dissolve the three companies holding these shares within a week. He will then use his 8% LVMH shares to exchange with my two friends for their 29% Dior clothing shares. The British Guinness Company is also ready to sell its shares and withdraw its investment."

"As for now, I personally own 33% of the company's shares, and my two friends, Mr. Pierre Cardin, own 5% of the company's shares, and this Ning from Asia owns 6%. And this guy, you should all know him, yes, he is Alain Chevalier's eldest son, and soon he will regain the right to represent MH's 23.5% of the shares."

"So no matter how you look at it, the control of LVMH has now returned to our hands. If everyone has no objection, I will become the new decision-maker of the board of directors, and I and the friends I represent will request a new adjustment of the board seats, taking out two seats from the existing board members and replacing them with Mr. Pierre Caton and Mr. Chevalier. Is this request reasonable? And given the relationship between the current board members and Mr. Arnault, I think Mr. Duroy Gérard, a distant relative of Mr. Arnault, and Mr. John Chavalierin, our vice president, are no longer suitable to stay on the board. What do you think?"

No one raised any objection. A new emperor appoints new ministers, and foreigners also understand this principle.

In particular, Henri Lacamier took the initiative to find Alain Chevalier's eldest son and recommended him to join the board of directors, which showed his magnanimity. No one expected it.

You know, the original dispute over equity was caused by the discord between LV and MH.

Bernard Arnault took advantage of their internal problems and used his acting skills to win control of the company.

This result is not only extremely ironic, but also makes almost everyone in MH feel relieved.

Regardless of which of the two factions is stronger in terms of appointments and dismissals in the future, at least in their view, Henri Lacamier is not a ruthless and murderous person, and such an agreement will undoubtedly create a harmonious situation within the company.

This is enough, and it is good for the company's future development and increasing its stock price.

So all the parties signed the documents in front of them, quickly and without any delay or difficulty, just as it was supposed to be.

These signed documents were immediately taken away by the company's legal staff.

As for the two people who were expelled from the board of directors, they knew that they could not escape, so they readily accepted the defeat, stood up, and very gentlemanly gave up their seats.

And this was not even the most important thing. At this time, some people actually surrendered themselves and raised their hands to speak. They actively suggested that Henri Lacamier should also make corresponding personnel appointments and dismissals for the company's existing senior managers and replace them with his own trusted confidants.

So everything fell into place, and proposals that would help Henri Lacamier regain control of the group company were put forward and passed one by one.

At this moment, the only people in the conference room who could remain relatively quiet and calm were the three absolute losers headed by Bernard Arnault and the cold-eyed bystander Ning Weimin.

So the most interesting thing happened in their silence. They looked at each other carefully with curiosity. Although no word came out of their mouths, the confrontation of curiosity and eye contact was inevitable.

It was a contest and observation of each other in a discordant silence.

The three Frenchmen's eyes were all fixed on Ning Weimin.

Ning Weimin could clearly feel that so many eyes were gathered together and clearly focused into many huge question marks - who is he? What role did he play in this matter? Even... why didn't he also want a seat on the board?

Ning Weimin looked at the "Wolf King" who was defeated by him with an interested smile.

He saw it with his own eyes today and had to admit that this was a shrewd guy. It was not easy for him to endure the humiliation like Han Xin.

He knew that Bernard Arnault would never give up, and admitting defeat this time was just a necessity to save his life.

But he was not afraid at all. It was impossible for him to lose, so he was looking forward to it instead.

Bernard Arnault, who failed to acquire LVMH, will only have Dior in his hands in the future, and will also have to face a tight financial situation.

With such a disadvantage, does this guy still have a chance to become the overlord of this industry?
Come to think of it, I'm really looking forward to watching the drama.

At this time, Henry at the conference table spoke up, "Well, that's the main topic for today. Excuse me, I would like to take up a little more of your time. I propose that we have a toast to our new changes."

The staff who had been prepared moved upon hearing the sound, and in a blink of an eye, several restaurant waiters each walked into the conference room carrying a plate of red wine, and respectfully served a glass to everyone in the venue.

Even Ning Weimin and the few people opposite him were no exception.

So, when Henry raised his glass and said, "Cheers!"

Ning Weimin also imitated his posture and raised his glass to toast the "Wolf King" very gentlemanly. He drank the wine with an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

He doesn't know what the other person is feeling?
But he did know that he had changed history.

This glass of wine was a toast to his opponent who still didn't know what role he played, and also to himself. (End of this chapter)