LVMH keen to boost appeal of craftsmanship excellence with ‘WE for ME’ pact
A new production line for Hennessy at Pont-Neuf, a Louis Vuitton leather goods workshop at Charmes-sur-l'Herbasse in the Drôme region, a shift to agroecology for Cheval Blanc: with global business booming, the LVMH group’s 75 labels are busy on an array of new projects in France alone. Projects focused on both expansion and transformation, that need skills and expertise. “Sustainable luxury cannot exist without excellence in know-how,” said Bernard Arnault, CEO of the luxury industry's leading group.
Such know-how is extremely valuable, and the issue of how to pass it on is key. Across France, the opening of several leather goods workshops for leading luxury groups, and scores of new projects in the fields of perfumery, jewellery and a variety of craft trades, are making the recruitment of skilled personnel a thorny issue.
In France alone, the sector needs to hire over 8,500 new employees each year - and doesn’t always manage to do so. The ‘Savoir pour Faire’ (expertise for craftsmanship) campaign and website were launched in 2019 in an effort to attract new recruits to artisanal trades.
LVMH too has decided to promote artisanal expertise and maintain a high profile, in order to attract the best talents in a multiplicity of crafts and luxury trades worldwide. To do so, the French luxury giant has recently instituted the ‘WE for ME’ pact, involving all of its labels.
“Throughout the world, LVMH brings together a portfolio of more than 200 craft trades. They are all driven by a community of women and men working with passion and a desire to pass on their skills,” said Chantal Gaemperle, director for Human Resources and Synergies at LVMH. “Our responsibility is to support them and to develop this community,” she added.
LVMH is indeed keen to promote craftsmanship. But how? The new pact, endorsed by the luxury group's CEO, features four main points.
Firstly, the group wants to step up the pace of its ‘Excellent!’ programme, aimed at promoting craftsmanship skills in France and abroad. It also wishes to recognise the talents already active within the group with ad hoc awards for its employees. Thirdly, it has set up a programme “to promote the skills of talented artisans within the group and to accelerate innovation in craftsmanship excellence.” Finally, LVMH intends to bolster initiatives outside the group too, citing the ‘Elle Artisanes’ prize and the establishment of a creativity fund to support artisanal trades.
LVMH will promote the crafts skills existing within the group by staging events in Paris on October 19 and in Florence on November 8.
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