Courtesy Goyard / Pinterest
None of them would want to pass up a chance to buy 200-yr-old Goyard
Only the really wealthy know Goyard. Unlike Gucci or Louis Vuitton, the more than 200-year-old Parisian maker of luxury luggage and bags -with one of its 19th-century-style trunks going for euro 52,380 ($59,315) – maintains a studied silence. It doesn’t advertise in glossy magazines, and is among the last of its kind not swallowed up by a larger peer. So far, that is.
Kering Chief Executive Officer Francois-Henri Pinault wouldn’t be averse to adding it to his company’s stable of brands, a person familiar with the matter said. While neither Kering nor its larger rival LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton will officially comment on whether they’re interested in Goyard, industry observers say it’s unlikely they would pass up a chance to consider buying it. “In the event that Goyard is for sale, LVMH and Kering will surely take a look,” said Mario Ortelli, London-based head of luxury at Sanford C Bernstein. “The Goyard brand would be compatible with Kering’s portfolio, for example, or LVMH could seek to increase its market share in leather goods rather than let another company build up a competitor to its brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Celine.”
Businessman Jean-Michel Signoles, who bought Goyard in 1998 from its founding family, won’t say if he wants to sell the company he turned around by expanding sales to ...