LVMH to buy French jewellery producer Platinum Invest to ramp up Tiffany production

PARIS (Reuters) – LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, has agreed to buy a majority stake in Platinum Invest Group, the owner of French jewellery producers Orest and Abysse, with an eye to bulking up production for its U.S. jeweller Tiffany.

With the purchase of the company, which runs five workshops in eastern France and employs 800 people, Tiffany will accelerate production of fine and high end jewellery, the companies said in a statement.

Platinum Invest will also continue to produce jewellery for existing clients outside of LVMH as well as other labels in the luxury group, which also owns high end jewellery brands Bulgari and Chaumet.

Riding a wave of post-pandemic demand for high end goods, European luxury groups have been tightening their hold on supply chains.

Bulgari is also expanding production, and last October announced plans to enlarge its Valenza site in northern Italy, adding 750 employees and doubling production by 2028.

LVMH is gearing up for the high profile reopening of Tiffany’s New York flagship, expected to take place before the end of the month.

LVMH, which bought Tiffany for $16 billion in 2021, plans to boost the jeweller’s sales through new products and store network expansion, aiming to improve margins at a later stage.

Financial terms of the deal to purchase Platinum Invest from private equity firm Andera Partners and French public investment bank BPIfrance were not provided.

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Mark Potter)