LVMH creates new luxury research center in Saclay, France

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jul 1, 2021

French luxury conglomerate LVMH has announced plans to open a new  a global research center dedicated to sustainable and digital luxury on the plateau of Saclay, a suburb south west of Paris best known for nuclear research.

 
Expected to open in "in 2024/2025," according to a LVMH release Thursday, the group expects it will "eventually bring together 300 employees and researchers who will work on luxury goods and the protection of the planet.”
 
The long-term goal is for LVMH "to establish itself at the heart of a particularly rich and dynamic research ecosystem.”

Saclay Nuclear Research Center, which employs 5,000 scientists, has been at the heart of French nuclear research since the end of the Second World War. While Paris-Saclay University is a top 10 ranked college for physics in many global educational rankings.
 
Based in Paris, publicly quoted LVMH boasts such stellar prestige brands as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Fendi, Dom Perignon, Hennessy and Guerlain.
 
Once its new center is completed, the group, which is controlled by the Arnault family, expects to employ over 1,000 people “dedicated to research and development.”
 
The group totals some 75 luxe brands and had previously committed to reducing its carbon emissions linked to energy consumption by 50% by 2026, compared to 2019, and to supplying its stores and sites 100% with renewable energy.
 
However, clan chief and LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault did raise eyebrows about his commitment to ecology two years ago when he criticized eco activist Greta Thunberg for “demoralizing" the younger generation by “surrendering completely to catastrophism.”