LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton (founded in 1854) with Moët Hennessy, which was established following the 1971 merger between the champagne producer Moët & Chandon (founded in 1743) and the cognac producer Hennessy (founded in 1765). In 2021, with a valuation of $329 billion, LVMH became the most valuable company in Europe. LVMH controls around 60 subsidiaries that manage 75 prestigious brands.These include Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Loro Piana, Kenzo, Celine, Sephora, Princess Yachts, TAG Heuer, and Bulgari. The subsidiaries are often managed independently, under the umbrellas of six branches: Fashion Group, Wines and Spirits, Perfumes and Cosmetics, Watches and Jewelry, Selective Distribution, and Other Activities. The oldest of the LVMH brands is wine producer Château d'Yquem, which dates its origins back to 1593. Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH. History In the 1980s, French investor Bernard Arnault had the idea to create a group of luxury brands. He worked with Alain Chevalier, CEO of Moët Hennessy, and Henry Racamier, president of Louis Vuitton, to form LVMH. Their successful integration of various famous aspirational brands into a single group inspired other luxury companies to do the same. Thus, the French conglomerate Kering and the Swiss-based Richemont have also created extended portfolios of luxury brands. LVMH is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Make Up For Ever was established in 1984, and was acquired by LVMH in 1999. On 7 March 2011, LVMH announced the acquisition of the 50.4% family-owned shares of the Italian jeweler Bulgari and the intention to make a tender offer for the rest, which was publicly owned. The transaction was about $5.2 billion. By 2012, LVMH established LCapitalAsia, a continuation of its private-equity arm, focused on Asia. In 2012, the growth of LVMH's sales "decreased by about 10 percent from the growth rate in 2011", and in early 2013 LVMH expressed that it would "stop opening stores in second and third-tier cities in mainland China". Xue Shengwen, a senior researcher at ChinaVenture, said the developing trend of young people is to take advantage of more acceptable prices. On 7 March 2013, National Business Daily reported that mid-priced clothing brand