Bernard Arnault Names New Leadership At Moët Hennessy

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has announced new leadership at Moët Hennessy, installing LVMH CFO Jean-Jacques Guiony as CEO of the drinks unit, and naming his son Alexandre Arnault as deputy CEO. The appointments are effective February 1.

Guiony replaces Philippe Schaus, who has been with LVMH for two decades and “has decided to begin a new chapter in his career, focusing on non-executive roles,” according to the company. Schaus will stay on to support the new team during the first half of next year. Guiony has served as CFO of LVMH since 2004.

The younger Arnault, 32, joins the luxury giant’s wine and spirits division from Tiffany & Co., where he is currently executive vice president of product and communications. Prior to that he helmed the Rimowa luggage brand. Along with Guiony, he will be tasked with driving growth for Moët Hennessy amid a challenging period in the drinks business, in particular for Cognac.

Meanwhile, Charles Delapalme has been named president and CEO of the Hennessy Cognac brand, replacing Laurent Boillot, whose new role will be announced at a later date. Delapalme is currently managing director of Christian Dior Couture. Hennessy is by far the global Cognac leader at just under 7 million cases, according to Impact Databank, but has ceded about 1.5 million cases over the past two years amid a category downturn.

Moët Hennessy posted sales down 8% on an organic basis to €4.2 billion ($4.6b) for the nine months through September, citing ongoing normalization in the drinks market and soft conditions in the U.S. and China. Still, the company noted that Hennessy Cognac returned to U.S. growth in the second quarter and continued its positive progress over most recent three months.

Despite seeing U.S. volume decline over the past two years to 3.1 million cases, Hennessy remains the fourth-largest spirits brand in the U.S. in retail value terms at $1.8 billion, according to Impact Databank, outranked only by Tito’s, Crown Royal, and Don Julio. While Hennessy’s volume is still down in control states year-to-date, it’s outperforming the Cognac market, and the company has seen shipments turn positive marketwide over the past two quarters.

Overall, Moët Hennessy’s Cognac & Spirits division—also including brands like Belvedere vodka, Glenmorangie single malt Scotch, and Woodinville Whiskey, among others—saw organic sales decline 11% to €2.1 billion ($2.3b) for the first nine months of the fiscal year. The company most recently targeted the American whiskey segment with Sir Davis ($89), a collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, which rolled out last month.

Sales in the luxury giant’s Champagnes & Wines unit dipped 6% organically to €2.1 billion ($2.3b) for the nine-month period, with the company citing cautious consumer spending as holding back revenues. That has impacted the group’s market leading Champagne brands Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, which remain not only far and away the largest Champagne labels in the U.S., but also the top two wine brands overall by retail dollars among all wines priced at $25 and over.—Dan Marsteller

Tagged : LVMH, Moet Hennessy, Veuve Clicquot

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2025 ESTIMATES AND 2030 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2025 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.