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LVMH Takes Stake In J.W. Anderson
By MILES SOCHA
PARIS
-- LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has netted London fashion star J.W. Anderson, taking a significant minority stake in his fledgling business and tapping the designer to assume the creative helm of Loewe.
WWD first reported on Sept. 11 that the French luxury giant was in discussions with Anderson, who launched his label in 2008. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"He's part of this emerging generation of talented new designers," Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH's fashion division, said in an exclusive interview. "We believe in the potential of his brand."
At Loewe, Anderson is to succeed Stuart Vevers, who in June said he was exiting the Madrid-based luxury firm to join Coach Inc. as executive creative director, succeeding executive creative director and president Reed Krakoff.
Interviewed in Paris on Wednesday morning, Anderson called LVMH the "Oxford [University] of luxury goods" and the right partner to help his fledgling business realize its potential.
Anderson said his immediate priority would be to build a management infrastructure, allowing him to focus on designing his signature women's and men's collections -- and take on his new responsibilities at Loewe. The 29-year-old noted he "hit it off" immediately with Roussel and Delphine Arnault, daughter of LVMH chairman and ceo Bernard Arnault and executive vice president at Louis Vuitton, who was a driving force behind the deal.
The deal is the latest in a spate of transactions involving Europe's luxury giants and buzzy, up-and-coming talents, dovetailing with LVMH's majority acquisition of British shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood last week and rival Kering's minority investment in Altuzarra and majority stake in Christopher Kane.
Roussel, who oversees...