LVMH's Double Whammy

It is proving to be a big week for French conglomerate LVMH, which yesterday announced its plans to open a new art museum on the outskirts of Paris (building on the success of the Fondation Louis Vuitton), coinciding with reports that it would be launching its own e-commerce platform under the mantle of Bon Marché - the multi-brand French department store it has owned since 1984.

Regarding the first announcement, LVMH owner Bernard Arnault revealed the plans to renovate the Musee National des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris in the presence of French president Francois Hollande, mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, French ecology minister Segolene Royal, and architect Frank Gehry, who designed the Fondation Louis Vuitton and has been employed to mastermind the new cultural landmark. The new space will have "an arts and crafts focus, featuring a concert hall and workshops for a 50-year concession granted to Arnault by the City of Paris", reports the BoF, and is slated to cost €158 million.

Concerning its first foray into the multi-brand e-commerce landscape, the Bon Marché site - which will launch in May - will not only sell products from all 70 LVMH-owned brands, but products from additional labels that don't belong in its stable, reports The Financial Times. It is the first major digital initiative to come from the brand since its chief digital officer, Ian Rogers, arrived from Apple in 2015.