The Rich Brand Story of Richemont Group

Luxury groups have revolutionized the luxury industry. The ultimate precondition for success in the luxurious world is that a company is capable of reinventing itself and confiding its own legacy to new generations. A luxury brand represents a lifestyle that suits its time and anticipates trends. Like an artist, a strong luxury brand has to create and innovate in order to become eternal. The luxury lifestyle today has become part of modern culture with a feeling of exclusivity. Holding multiple iconic luxurybrands under its umbrella is the majestic Richemont Group.

Richemont has pressured its attention by targeting its portfolio brands in the fine watch market, jewelry, accessories and apparel. The Richemont company has been founded by the Rembrandt Group Limited of South Africa (now Remgro Limited), as a spin-off of the international assets in 1988. Established by Dr Anton Rupert in the 1940s and under the umbrella of Rothmans International, the Rembrandt group had major interests in cigarettes, financial services, wines and spirits, gold and diamond mining as well as in luxury investment in Richemont.

Compagnie Financière Richemont AG (Richemont), created as a holding company for the international interests of the Rupert family, has grown into a world-renowned global luxury goods company. Many of the brands that do a lot to describe the term luxury are owned by the company: Cartier, Jaeger LeCoultre, Piaget, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, A. Lange Sohne, Panerai, Chloé and Lancel. Richemont also holds 80 percent of Van Cleef & Arpels, a jewelry manufacturer. As Richemont merged in 1999 with British American Tobacco (BAT) Rothmans International, its tobacco company, they earned 35 per cent ownership of BAT. Richemont is managed by the Rupert family, whereby Johann Rupert guides the interests of the family. The corporation has also indulged in the luxury sector in companies including investments in the French television group Canal+ and the U.S. retail service Hanover Direct, but prefers to concentrate on the premium market.

The newly founded Richemont obtained the reins of his son, Johann Rupert, following a professional experience outside of the family business. After college in Chase Manhattan and Lazard Freres in New York, Johann Rupert returned to South Africa to manage the bank he owned. With a hands-off style, Johann Rupert ran Richemont. He strongly believed that he should give his luxury brands money and time to develop into money makers instead of waiting for them to do so.Richemont had to hold a significant sum of cash in hand to endorse Johann Rupert 's strategy. In 1989, the acquisition by Richemont of the 24 percent stake in Rothmans from Philip Morris Company, ensured access for the Rupert family of Rothmans International. The company's cash reserves were $750 million when Richemont invested in Rothmans, with annual flows expected to be about $500 million a year.

The years mentioned below are noteworthy since they contributed a lot towards their success-

1988 - The supervised funds are invested to create the, Rembrandt Group Ltd.

1993 - Richemont luxury goods and tobacco companies are split into Rothmans International BV / PLC and Vendome Luxury Group.

1995 - The purchase of the minority shares of Rothmans took over Richemont International, and Richemont was a pay-TV company known as NetHold. Richemont is now under management.

1996 - NetHold merges with Canal+ of France.

1998 -The Vendome Luxury Company with Vendome minority shareholders buyout takes over 100 percent of Richemont.

1999 - International Rothmans merges with British American Tobacco (BAT) and 60% of Van Cleef and Arpels is purchased by Richemont.

2000 - Richemont joins forces with Audemars Piguet to buy the Stern Company watchmaker and purchases the Les Manufactures Horlogeres (LMH) watchmaking industry.

In 2008, the Group split its interests into the Swiss luxury company Reinet, which retained the remaining BAT shares in Luxembourg. Also in 2008 in Bellevue, a stone's throw from Geneva, Richemont opened its new headquarters. The company continued to expand: in 2007 it became associated with the Azzedine Alaïa fashion house and in 2010 it took on the largest online fashion retailer, Net-à-Porter.com. Other companies that have been floating their ranks include watch manufacturer Minerva, Roger Dubuis, and case manufacturer Donzé-Baume.

"A continuous sprint marathon," is how Johann Rupert describes the first 25 years of Richemont 's growth. That exactly gives the impression of development, transition and vertical integration this quarter-century. But as Rupert is quick to add, "the past of Richemont doesn't end here."’ That means the best is yet to come. He then cites Vacheron Constantin, one of the Maisons of the Group, whose precept is to "do better if necessary, and that's always possible." Quite a goal for joint chief executives Richard Lepeu and Bernard Fornas.