National Tide 1980

"Okay, the next big news about a well-known company is that the current board member of LVMH and former LV CEO Henri Lacamier is dissatisfied with the current LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault's way of running the company and his attitude towards the company. The excessive interference of the LV brand. When he took the stage to speak at the LV autumn conference at Paris Fashion Week today, he publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision-makers of LVMH. He believed that some of this year's new product designs were fundamentally inferior due to interference from Bernard Arnault. It did not reflect LV's brand expertise, and the press conference was crude and vulgar, with no sense of innovation. He even criticized his company's board of directors for being blind and allowing a layman who built a house to do whatever he wanted, so that LV's style became worse and worse. Products are becoming more and more tacky, and the secular aesthetic has made LV almost the same as a second-rate brand..."

"At the same time, we also noticed that the stock price of LVMH dropped sharply by 3% in today's stock market. There are rumors that the change in LVMH's stock price today is due to disputes within the LVMH group. Henry Laca, the heir of LV Miye is dissatisfied with LVMH's actual controller Bernard Arnault's proposal to retire at the age of 70 to the board of directors. In order to prevent him from quitting the board of directors due to the new system and thus completely losing control of the family brand, he is planning to take legal action. He claimed that the current top decision-maker of LVMH has engaged in considerable illegal activities in the management and operation of the group company, and he also plans to use this as a reason to apply to re-split the LVMH group... "

"Okay, let's connect with our off-site reporters again and let's take a look. What do the guests at today's LV autumn conference think of this unexpected incident in the fashion industry?"

On the glowing TV screen, as the host of the French news channel ended the on-site broadcast, the TV camera turned to the LV autumn conference.

The reporter on the sidelines of the news program briefly introduced the situation at the scene, and soon handed the microphone to a paunchy man.

The fat man in the middle who was asked for his opinion was the executive vice president of LVMH according to the reporter’s verbal identity.

"Oh, today is such a disaster for this conference. Henry is crazy and talks nonsense. His performance today is so disgraceful. I have always respected his artistic style and respect him as the inheritor of the LV brand. But now I am only deeply disappointed with him. This guy is simply an arrogant man, and his accusations against Mr. Arnault are purely biased. You know, there will be some objections to any product of every brand. , but it is normal to have controversy, because as a commodity, it is necessary to find a balance between artistic and commercial value, so no matter what, he should not ruin the reputation of his company on this occasion. I think his words and deeds today are what counts. It was vulgar, and it completely hurt all of our feelings. I mean, everyone knows the importance of this conference. There are many people at LVMH who have devoted their efforts to it, but we are working hard, but we are being ignored. He laughed, is this a sign of being educated?..."

The camera on the TV screen changed again, and the reporter on the sidelines continued, "Okay, let's listen to other people's opinions."

This was followed by interviews with several on-site guests.

Alain Delon was holding up champagne, "You ask me what I think? I don't know. The scene that happened today was something that everyone expected. To be honest, I have no objection to LV's product design. After all, I am a woman." Something I like. I just didn’t expect that LVMH is already full of internal conflicts. I’m worried that this brand that has maintained its reputation for hundreds of years will decline because of this. This is a luggage brand like a pearl in France, after all, it has a commercial business. Everyone knows that in any company, no matter how good the product is, stability and unity within the company are the most important. Isn't it? I am just glad that I did not buy too many LVMH stocks. I just hope that the stock market will be better. Don't react too violently to this matter, so that I can sell it at a smaller loss tomorrow..."

Catherine Deneuve took the initiative to come over. Her face was pink, and she seemed to be a little drunk on champagne, so she was unceremonious, even unscrupulous, talking to the camera.

"Oh, I have to say. The scene that happened today finally made me understand why I dislike some of LV's new products this year. I'm afraid they are indeed the work of an outsider. I don't care what others say, anyway, from From the perspective of a user like me, I hope that the things I use are full of creativity and design. I can only say that if this matter is as I think it is, the designer's creativity will be deprived of it because of the competition for interests within the company. Quan, that’s really disappointing. The fashion industry is not that simple. It’s not just about adding high-end materials to create something that people like. The key is taste and creativity. Think about it, if a fashion brand doesn’t have enough. The soul who supports it, or the brand must adopt many restrictions in creation, and consider everything from practicality and commerciality, then the brand will have no practical significance. This is why I liked Dior in the past, but now I have changed. Being surrounded by Yves Saint Laurent, the answer is the designer..."

It was the afternoon of Thursday, October 15, 1987.

The location is Bernard Arnault's office at LVMH headquarters.

The only people in the room at this time were Bernard Arnault himself and his financial backer from Lazard Bank, Frank Meyer.

They had finished reading the reports on the news channel together. Needless to say, their expressions were not very good at this time.

"Haha, you actually played such a little trick on me."

Bernard Arnault sneered disdainfully at his partner sitting across from him, "Henry is now an old lunatic at the end of his rope. I thought he would know the power and retire to me honestly. I didn't expect him to do such a thing This is disgusting..."

"It's true." Frank Meyer immediately agreed, "This guy actually slandered his own brand in public, which will greatly shake the public's confidence in LVMH. You have seen those remarks, and even those celebrities have doubts about LV products. If they do, more people will be affected by them, and it will be terrible once this matter ferments..."

"Asshole, those Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve are actually against me? They dare to slander LV's reputation as guests. If I know who invited them here, I will definitely expel him. Also That Henri Lacamier is simply asking for his own death. Now there is no need to wait until the proposal to retire at the age of seventy is passed. I will convene the board of directors tomorrow and propose a proposal to suspend him and completely prohibit him from participating in anything related to LV. Business activities. All board members will agree with my decision."

Bernard Arnault continued to be indignant and complained to his sponsor.

Frank Meyer, however, was not interested in the power struggles within his company; he was only concerned about his investments.

"Don't be angry, these are just trivial matters. The top priority is that we must make amends for this matter as soon as possible, try our best to restore the impact and maintain the stock price. We must not allow this kind of thing to develop. We have finally solved the problem At this stage of operation, the stock price is now high, and you have gained absolute control. As long as you persist, no one will have enough financial resources to compete with you for chips. Based on LVMH's current revenue. Judging from the current situation, the release of the third quarterly report at the end of the month will be enough to maintain the current stock price, so no new changes can occur in important matters now. As long as the stock price can be stabilized, you can slowly get rid of the things you don't like. People will kick out of the company and then completely digest the fruits of your victory.”

"Yes, yes, I know this." Bernard Arnault nodded, "But you don't have to worry too much, I am also capable of doing this. I will hold a press conference tomorrow to clarify this matter. My authority on the board of directors has been deeply entrenched. The public will see the unified opinion of the LVMH board of directors through the media. As for excellent designers, it is not easy to deal with them. They say I am an amateur, but as long as I am willing to spend money, I can hire even the most famous designers. Bundle it to the LVMH chariot. You should understand that Dior clothing is just for me to revitalize."

"Then you shouldn't be careless." Frank Meyer shrugged noncommittally. "I have to remind you that you are now the boss of a listed company, and the impact of stocks on market value is very important. The stock price itself is enough to reflect the public's confidence in you. If the stock price falls, there will be a more serious loss of public confidence. I think Today's stock market situation has reached a turnover rate of almost 4%. From my experience, this is not a good sign. There must be a big sell order, so I can't help it. Worry, is your opponent intentionally using this desperate approach to lower the stock price and deliberately shorting? You must know that Henry owns 30% of the shares, and his friend Pierre Cardin also holds part of the shares. If they If we think about it, we can really bring down the stock price, and then we will have to bear the huge risk of floating losses..."

When he said this, Bernard Arnault couldn't help but become suspicious, "You mean, this is a conspiracy deliberately carried out by Henry. Maybe Henry did this deliberately because he planned to short-sell LVMH's stocks. But the problem is, What benefit does this have to him? When the stock price is high, he can at least make money by selling it slowly. Is it possible that they still have illusions at this time and want to make profits through securities lending? Buy back shares at low prices?”

"I don't know." Frank Meyer shook his head. "If they were rational, of course they would know that when our shareholding has reached 40%, it is no longer realistic for them to compete for the company's equity. But the problem is …Does your opponent still have sense? Does Henry have the sense to publicly slander LV’s reputation? That’s what he values ​​most.”

Frank Meyer looked at the person in power sitting behind the desk with a joking expression, "To be honest, even I have to say that you are really despicable in the way you make trouble. You have deceived almost everyone. Man, you got all this by taking advantage of everyone's trust in you. And you are so ruthless that as soon as you get the equity, you will kick everyone away and completely deprive them of all their power in the company. If it were them, I would be mad and might even take revenge at any cost. So maybe they just want to see you unlucky. After all, LVMH's stock price is already a bit out of line with its fundamentals. Doing this has a higher chance of success. Although there is no way to save the situation, it can at least make you suffer huge losses in the value of the stock. "

But after hearing what he said, Bernard Arnault smiled instead and said it without any dissatisfaction.

"They have chosen the wrong opponent. I never lose. I will ask someone to check it out. If it is really like what you said, I will swallow up their shares and push up the stock price. They are giving me money."

You know, the first company that Bernard Arnault successfully usurped the throne was his family business, and the first chairman he fired was his father.

Even Dior clothing was obtained by him deceiving the French government by acquiring the Bossac Textile Group and then playing word games to split it up and sell it.

So why would he care about this when he has done so many bad things?

When others mention it, he will only be proud of his huge profits and the pain he has brought to others.

But there is still a very realistic problem. It still takes money to acquire shares. Where does the money come from?

"I say, old friend. How about raising another 200 million US dollars for me? If, I mean if, they really do this, I will completely blow them up this time. By then, I will make sure that they can't even buy stocks that are closed at a low price." Bernard Arnault asked with a smile.

But Frank Mayer refused.

"I think we should forget it. I say we can't just watch them jump off the building and die quietly. Why do we have to intervene? Besides, I have already given you too much money. There are disciplines within the company and pressures from the outside. We have only so much money in France at Lazard, and most of it has been given to you. From the perspective of risk diversification, I can't give you any more money."

"Then I want to take out collateral, isn't that possible?" Bernard Arnault still asked persistently.

"Collateral? No, no, you mean LVMH shares, right? Since you want to operate this stock, the volatility will increase, so of course you can't use this stock as collateral."

"No, I mean Dior Clothing. LVMH's stock price has nothing to do with Dior Clothing. The company's market value is now more than a billion dollars. I mortgage my shares to you 20%, is that enough? And I can give you double the interest, and you can put half of it in your own pocket, you damn Jew!".

"Well, I can consider this." Frank Mayer finally gave in.

Bernard Arnault was also happy now, "Okay, old friend. I won't let you help me for nothing. Our cooperation has always been seamless and successful. Isn't it?"

At this point, the two meticulous ghosts who were full of money calculations finally reached an agreement on business and countermeasures.

However, the next day, October 16, the last trading day of the week, something even more surprising happened, so that everything they had planned was out of count.

For no other reason, because they found that even Dior clothing began to be sold in large quantities, and the sales were more fierce than LVMH, with a turnover rate of up to 6%, which caused the stock price to fall by 7% in one day.

At this moment, both of them felt extremely strange, and therefore they were worried.