LVMH considers widening US footprint as CEO Arnault expresses France fatigue

By Tassilo Hummel and Mimosa Spencer

PARIS (Reuters) - Luxury giant LVMH is "seriously considering" bulking up its production capacities in the United States, CEO Bernard Arnault said on Tuesday, praising a "wind of optimism" in the country that contrasted with the "cold shower" of potentially higher corporate taxes in France.  

LVMH, which makes billions selling "made in France" luxury goods from leather handbags to champagne to the world, so far has little production capacity in the United States besides three Louis Vuitton workshops and some Tiffany jewelry-making sites.

But Arnault, who is also LVMH's main shareholder, said he was open to increasing the company's footprint in the United States soon.  

"It's clear that we are being strongly pushed by the American authorities to continue to build out our presence. In the current context, this is something that we're looking at seriously," he said, speaking to journalists after the company presented quarterly results. 

Arnault and his family attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term earlier this month.  

Arnault and wife Helene Mercier and well as two of his children, Delphine Arnault and Alexandre Arnault, sat just a few metres from Trump’s lectern, alongside other billionaires including Tesla founder Elon Musk and Meta Platforms boss Mark Zuckerberg. 

Arnault, who early in his career worked as a real estate developer in the United States after he left France following the election of leftist President Francois Mitterrand, has known Trump for decades. Arnault had criticized Mitterand as anti-business.

During Trump's first term, Arnault invited him to cut the ribbon at a new Louis Vuitton leather atelier in Alvarado, Texas. 

Arnault said U.S.-based factories benefit from attractive tax conditions and that Trump is encouraging investments in what he called a "very dynamic" market. 

At the same time, Arnault - France's richest man - voiced frustration about his home country's bureaucracy and recent plans to additionally tax large companies to plug a hole in the state budget. 

"I've just come back from the U.S. where you can see the wind of optimism going through the country. And when you come back to France after spending a few days in the U.S., it's a bit of a cold shower, I have to say."  

The U.S. market, where the French conglomerate employs more than 40,000 people, is key for LVMH, accounting for 25% of group sales.  

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel and Mimosa Spencer in Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)