LVMH is Leading the Luxury-Meets-Art Race, Bernstein Report Suggests

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is winning luxury’s race to associate itself with the art world, according to a new research report from Bernstein.

Its “quantified assessment” put Kering in second place, and Chanel in third.

Researchers at Berstein took into account the wide swath of tactics Europe’s luxury groups are deploying, from contributing to the restoration of artistic landmarks and sponsoring art museums to high-profile collaborations with famous artists and architects.

“Luxury brands need to associate themselves with global aspirations and ideals in order to ignite desire,” said the report, issued Wednesday. “Doing this in a de-globalizing world is tricky. Hence, the need to find naturally global realms — like the arts and the sports.”

Megabrands are best positioned to capitalize on the associations, given their financial might, rich heritage and capabilities to monetize enhanced branding, according to Bernstein.

The report includes some staggering figures, including an estimated 800-million-euro investment for the Frank Gehry designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the 25 million euros Tod’s ponied up for the restoration of the Coliseum in Rome.

It also laid bare the additional pricing power art associatons can bring, noting Louis Vuitton’s Nano Speedy bag embellished with Yayoi Kusama artworks commanded a retail price of 1,740 British pounds versus 1,260 pounds for a plain monogram version.

In its analysis, HSBC blurred the lines between Kering and the family vehicles like Artémis behind the spaces housing François Pinault’s vast art collection, including the Tadao Ando-designed Bourse de Commerce in Paris — and Chanel and its Culture Fund partnerships.

Still, the quantification “is less about absolute numbers, since the scale of these donations and investments are mostly undisclosed, and more about ticking boxes and observable instances,” according to Yi-Peng Khoo, senior research associate at HSBC.

In his estimation, “the highlight of the framework is less about the top three (who tick all the boxes in some shape or form), and more about the second movers who have an opportunity to emulate or one-up the first movers.”

He also highlighted that there are several brands who “already punch above their weight,” including Prada and Miu Miu.