Richemont

Compagnie Financière Richemont SA

Type	Public
Traded as	SIX: CFR, JSE: CFR [1]
Industry	Management
Predecessor	Rembrandt Group Limited [1]
Founded	Geneva, Switzerland (1988) [1]
Founder	Johann Rupert [1]
Headquarters	Bellevue, Switzerland [1]
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Johann Rupert, Chairman [1]
Services	Management Logistics
Revenue	€10.410 billion (2015) €10.023 billion (2014) [1]
Operating income	€2.670 billion (2015) €2.427 billion (2014) [1]
Profit	€1.334 billion (2015) €2.067 billion (2014) [1]
Total assets	€20.450 billion (2015) €15.918 billion (2014) [1]
Total equity	€14.420 billion (2015) €11.958 billion (2014) [1]
Owner	Compagnie Financière Rupert (9.1%) [1]
Number of employees	28,324 (2015) 26,786 (2014) [1]
Divisions	Jewellery Maisons Specialist Watchmakers Other Businesses [1]
Subsidiaries	See article section
Website	richemont.com

Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont designs, manufactures, distributes and sells premium jewellery, watches, leather goods, writing instruments, firearms, clothing and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the JSE Securities Exchange.

The brands it owns include A. Lange & Söhne, Azzedine Alaïa, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Chloé, Dunhill, IWC Schaffhausen, Giampiero Bodino, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lancel, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Peter Millar, Purdey, Roger Dubuis, Shanghai Tang, Vacheron Constantin, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

As of November 2012, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is the sixth largest corporation by market capitalization in the Swiss Market Index. As of 2014, Richemont is the second-largest luxury goods company in the world after LVMH.^[2]

History

Johann Rupert founded Compagnie Financière Richemont SA in 1988 when he spun off the international assets of Rembrandt Group Ltd. (now Remgro Limited), a South Africa-based company founded in the 1940s by his father, Dr. Anton Rupert.^[3][4] The luxury goods investments of Rembrandt Group combined with Rothmans International formed the initial group of Richemont subsidiaries.^[5][6]

In March 2007, Richemont and Polo Ralph Lauren Inc. announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, the Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Company SÀRL.^[7]

In October 2008, the Group divested all of its remaining interests in the tobacco industry.^[8]

As of November 2012, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is the sixth largest corporation by market capitalization in the Swiss Market Index.^[9] As of 2014, Richemont is the second-largest luxury goods company in the world after LVMH.^[2]

Organization

Compagnie Financière Richemont SA organizes its business activities into three operating divisions: Jewellery Maisons, Specialist Watchmakers and Other Businesses.^[1]

Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels constitute the Jewellery Maisons.

The Specialist Watchmakers group is composed of A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin and the joint venture with the Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Co.

The Other Businesses division includes Azzedine Alaïa, Chloé, Dunhill, Lancel, Montblanc, Peter Millar, Purdey and Shanghai Tang.^[1]

Ownership and control

The largest significant shareholder of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is Compagnie Financière Rupert, a Swiss company that holds shares controlled and principally owned by Johann Rupert. Compagnie Financière Rupert owns 522,000,000 Class "B" shares of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, representing 9.1% of the equity and 50% of the voting rights. Johann Rupert and Compagnie Financière Rupert also hold 2,836,664 class "A" shares or "A" share equivalents as of the end of March 2015.^[1]

Investments

Subsidiaries

The following companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA unless otherwise noted.^[1]

• A. Lange & Söhne — watches; based in Glashütte, Germany
• Azzedine Alaïa — women's fashions; based in Paris, France
• Baume & Mercier — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Cartier — jewellery and watches; based in Paris, France
• Chloé — women's clothing; based in Paris, France
• Dunhill — men's clothing, watches and leather goods; based in London, United Kingdom
• Giampiero Bodino — high jewellery; based in Milan, Italy
• IWC Schaffhausen — watches; based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland
• Lancel — leathergoods; based in Paris, France and with, as of February 2014, Marianne Romestain as chief executive officer^[10][11]
• Jaeger-LeCoultre — watches; based in Le Sentier, Switzerland
• Montblanc — writing instruments and watches; based in Hamburg, Germany
• Officine Panerai — watches; based in Florence, Italy
• Peter Millar — men's and women's apparel; based in Durham, NC, USA
• Piaget — jewellery, watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Purdey — firearms, ammunition; based in London, United Kingdom
• Roger Dubuis — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Shanghai Tang — men's and women's fashions; based in Hong Kong
• Vacheron Constantin — watches; based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Van Cleef & Arpels — jewellery, watches; based in Paris, France

Joint ventures

• Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Co. (50%) — watches, jewellery; based in Geneva, Switzerland.^[12]

Other investments

• YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP — ecommerce; based in Milan, Italy.^[13]

Former investments

In 2000, the Group sold its minority stake in Vivendi, representing its exit from all previous media interests, which had included NetHold and Canal+.

Richemont acquired British clothing retailer Hackett Limited in 1992.^[14] On 2 June 2005, Richemont announced its sale to Spanish investment company Torreal S.C.R., S.A.^[15][16]

Richemont and Mimi So formed a joint venture in 2004 ,^[17][18] Richemont's first investment in an American brand.^[19] In 2007, Richemont requested to become the majority partner of the joint venture. Mimi So declined and purchased Richemont's stake in the venture.

In 2008, Richemont spun off all of its non-luxury goods businesses, principally Richemont's stake in British American Tobacco, into a newly formed, separately traded holding company, Reinet Investments S.C.A.^[20][21][22]

In 2015, the Net-a-Porter Group was merged with the YOOX Group in an all-share transaction. Richemont is the largest shareholder in the enlarged Group.^[1][23]

Website blocking

In October 2014 the first blocking order against trademark infringing consumer goods was passed against the major UK ISPs by Richemont, Cartier International and Montblanc to block several domains selling trademark infringing products.^[24]

Notes

1. "Richemont Annual Report and Accounts 2015" (PDF). Richemont.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
2. European Sales Help Luxury Group Richemont Balance a Decline in Asia
3. Remgro 2011.
4. International Directory of Company Histories 2007.
5. Richemont. "History, including Significant Investments and Divestments". Retrieved October 2015.
6. Domisse & Esterhuyse 2009, pp. 322-324.
7. "Richemont and Polo Ralph Lauren announce the formation of The Polo Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewellery Company". Richemont.com. Retrieved 5 March 2007.
8. "Richemont to Spin Off Its Tobacco Holdings". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
9. Swiss Exchange 2012.
10. Szmydke, Paulina (6 February 2014). "Lancel Names Romestain CEO". WWD. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
11. Szmydke, Paulina (6 February 2014). "Marianne Romestain Tapped as Lancel CEO". WWD. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
12. "Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Company to unveil its first timepieces at Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2009". Ralph Lauren Watches. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
13. "Investor relations Shareholders".
14. Menkes 2010.
15. Butler 2005.
16. Richemont 2005.
17. Thompson 2004.
18. Karimzadeh 2004.
19. Elite Traveler 2010.
20. Richemont 2012a.
21. Gelnar 2007, p. A.13.
22. Reinet 2012.
23. Richemont, Richemont. "Merger of Net-A-Porter with YOOX completed with a significant one-off accounting gain estimated between € 610 and € 670 million". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
24. Little, Trevor. "Landmark judgment handed down in dispute between Richemont and ISPs". Retrieved 17 October 2014.

References

• Butler, Sarah (2005-06-03). "Spanish buy Hackett for 15m". The Times (London: Times Newspapers Ltd). ISSN 0140-0460. OCLC 488231355. Retrieved 2012-11-03. (subscription required)
• Campbell, Keith; Mulier, Thomas (2009-11-13). "Hyperinflation Worries? Buy My Jewelry, Richemont’s Rupert Says". Bloomberg Businessweek (Bloomberg). ISSN 0007-7135. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
• DeMarco, Anthony (2012-01-16). "Richemont Q3 Revenue Soars 24%". Forbes (Forbes.com LLC). ISSN 0015-6914. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
• Dommisse, Ebbe; Esterhuyse, Willie (2009). Anton Rupert, A Biography. Cape Town, South Africa: Tafelberg Publishers. ISBN 9780624048190.
• Gelnar, Martin (2007-11-20). "Richemont Raises Profile With Tobacco-Spinoff Plan". Wall Street Journal (New York: Dow Jones & Company). p. A.13. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2012-11-21. Retrieved 2012-11-21. (subscription required)
• Karimzadeh, Marc (2004-01-04). "Richemont Acquires Stake in Mimi So". Women's Wear Daily (New York: Condé Nast Publications) 187 (8): 3. ISSN 0043-7581. Retrieved 2012-11-21. 'We are confident with the backing of Richemont, Mimi So will grow at both retail and wholesale,' [Ed McQuigg] said....We are confident her philosophy and unparalleled talent will translate into significant brand expansion both domestically and internationally for Mimi So.' (subscription required)
• Menkes, Suzy (2010-01-11). "Hackett: A ‘Heritage’ That’s Oh-So-British". The New York Times (New York: The New York Times Company). ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
• Thompson, Michael (2004-02-18). "Richemont Partners with Mimi So". Professional Jeweler (Philadelphia: Bond Communications/The Industry Group). ISSN 1097-5314. OCLC 38172124. Archived from the original on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
• "About Reinet Investments S.C.A". reinet.com. Reinet Investments. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
• "Compagnie Financiere Richemont". Gale Business Insights: Essentials. Gale. 2012. OCLC 798738293. Retrieved 2012-11-21. (subscription required)
• "Company History". remgro.com. Remgro Group. 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
• "History, including Significant Investments and Divestments". richemont.com. Compagnie Financière Richemont. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
• International Directory of Company Histories 50. Farmington Hills, Michigan: St. James Press. June 2007. ISBN 9781558627031.
• "Leaders In Luxury - Mimi So". elitetraveler.com. Elite Traveler. 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
• "Our Businesses". richemont.com. Compagnie Financière Richemont. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2011-01-15. In 2007, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA and Ralph Lauren combined their expertise to create the Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry Company in a joint-venture.
• Richemont Annual Report and Accounts 2012 (PDF). Compagnie Financière Richemont. 2012-05-16. ISBN 9782970070948. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
• "Richemont sells Hackett Limited to Torreal, S.A.". richemont.com. Compagnie Financière Richemont. 2005-06-02. Archived from the original on 2012-11-18. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
• "SMI – the Blue-Chip Index". six-swiss-exchange.com. SIX Swiss Exchange. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2012-11-23.

External links

• Official website