Vietnam Insider

On November 14, LVMH announced a series of important changes in the executive board. Accordingly, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jean-Jacques Guiony will be transferred to the position of Director of the Wine and Spirits Division from February 1, 2025, replacing Philippe Schaus, who will leave the group after 21 years of service.

Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault also appointed Alexandre Arnault as vice president of the division. The 32-year-old is one of the billionaire’s five children and is vice president of Tiffany & Co., headquartered in the United States.

Alexandre Arnault was appointed in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president. He is known to have close ties to the Trump family and was invited to dinner with his wife, Geraldine, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last year. “He is a very promising young man, the son of one of the great businessmen and leaders in Europe and the world,” Trump tweeted in February 2023.

The trend of rejuvenating the executive board and consolidating the power of his children has been implemented by billionaire Bernard Arnault recently. To date, 4 out of his 5 children hold important positions.

Specifically, Delphine Arnault, 49, is the President of Dior, the group’s second largest brand. Antoine Arnault, 47, is the Director of Image and Environment. While Frédéric Arnault is currently the CEO of LVMH’s watch division at the age of 30, and Jean Arnault, 26, is the CEO of Louis Vuitton’s watch division.

Alexandre Arnault, 32, who was recently appointed as deputy general director of the wine and spirits division, is said to have many opportunities and challenges. Because he has to co-lead the group’s weakest division.

LVMH’s wine and spirits sales fell 8% in the first nine months of the year, hit by a sharp slowdown in demand in its two key markets, the US and China. Alexandre knows the US market well and has a good relationship with Trump, but he will have a headache in China, with Beijing imposing tariffs on European spirits.

In addition, Alexandre Arnault will move to manage a business with extensive operations, from vineyards to distilleries, with a large and unionized workforce, requiring more direct management skills than the fashion and watch brand CEO positions that his brothers and sisters are currently holding.

Along with the changes to the wine division, LVMH also confirmed the departure of Chantal Gaemperlé, who had been its human resources director for the past 17 years. According to La Lettre on November 7, Gaemperlé was suspended due to an internal investigation into the accumulation of “material benefits” from subsidiaries. Maud Alvarez-Pereyre, currently the director of talent and transformation, will replace Gaemperlé.

The changes come just weeks after Chris de Lapuente, executive board member and CEO of select distribution — which includes Sephora, Le Bon Marché and duty-free — announced his retirement. LVMH’s deputy CEO position was also rejuvenated in March, with Stéphane Bianchi, 59, replacing Antonio Belloni, 70.

The sweeping reshuffle of the group’s 70 luxury brands comes amid a sluggish business environment. The global luxury market is worth $386 billion and is expected to shrink by 2% this year, according to consultancy Bain & Company, as rising prices and economic uncertainty have shrunk the customer base from 400 million to 350 million.

Bain estimates that sales in China will fall by 20-22%, factoring in currency fluctuations, a blow to luxury brands after years of booming growth in the world’s second-largest economy, thanks to a growing upper and middle class.

“This is the first time the luxury sector has declined since the 2008-2009 crisis, excluding the pandemic,” said Federica Levato, an expert at Bain. Investors fear the recession will be longer and more severe than expected. LVMH shares fell nearly 19% at the end of the year on November 15.

LVMH’s third-quarter revenue fell 3%, its first decline since the pandemic, to $20.8 billion. Sales of its fashion and leather goods division, which includes brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, fell 5%, compared with a forecast for a 4% increase. This was the first decline since 2020.

In terms of markets, sales in Asia (excluding Japan) fell 16%, worse than the 14% decline in the second quarter, as purchasing power in China continued to be affected by the real estate crisis. According to LVMH, consumer confidence in the country has fallen to its lowest level since the pandemic.

Also on November 15, DFS Group, a retailer owned by LVMH, announced that it would close its operations at the historic Fondaco dei Tedeschi building in Venice, Italy, resulting in the layoff of more than 220 employees. Over the past five years, the store has lost $105.36 million due to Covid and a decrease in Asian customers.

“This difficult decision is part of a global restructuring driven by the challenging economic climate and uncertain outlook facing DFS and the travel retail industry worldwide, particularly the poor performance of the Venice store,” DFS said in a statement. Another of the company’s stores, located near the famous Rialto Bridge, whose lease expires in September 2025, will also not be renewed.

According to Bain, the luxury goods industry is expected to grow between 0% and 4% in 2025, supported by sales in Europe and the Americas, while China is expected to recover in the second half of next year. Levato said that Mr. Trump’s victory and the possibility of tax cuts could encourage Americans to spend more.

In addition, the market’s growth prospects also depend on the strategies that brands choose, including pricing strategies. One sign that high prices are holding back consumers is that outlet stores (genuine brands that are discounted due to being out of season, in stock or having minor defects) are outperforming thanks to the trend of finding products at low prices.

Source: vnexpress.net – Phien An ( according to Reuters, Le Monde )

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that around the afternoon and night of November 17, cold air will affect the Northeast region and then expand to the plains and Northwest.

The American website Accuweather predicts that tomorrow Hanoi will drop about 3 degrees compared to today, down to 21-30 degrees Celsius, and by mid-week the daily temperature will fluctuate between 19-28 degrees. High points over 1,500 meters above sea level such as Sa Pa (Lao Cai) will have 14-22 degrees at the beginning of the week, and by the end of the week it will drop to the freezing threshold (average daily temperature below 13 degrees) from 9-15 degrees Celsius.

The North Central provinces will also be affected by this cold air mass with common temperatures of 18-20 degrees, and in mountainous areas below 15 degrees.

In addition, the cold air will also cause strong northeast winds of level 3 on land and level 4 in coastal areas. At sea, from tomorrow, strong winds of level 6, gusts of level 7-8, waves 2-4 m high. In the North East Sea, strong winds of level 6-7, gusts of level 8-9, waves 3-5 m high.

Mr. Nguyen Van Huong, Head of Weather Forecasting Department, National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said the reason why the temperature in the North remains high after the beginning of winter is due to the weakening of cold air mass and the appearance of divergent wind fields, creating conditions for prolonged heat.

It is forecasted that in the main winter months, from December 2024 to February 2025, the average temperature across the country will generally be approximately the same as the average for the same period in many years. In December 2024, the Northwest, Central and South Central regions will be 0.5-1 degrees Celsius higher.

Cold air causing widespread severe cold in the North is likely to appear from the second half of December and be active until February 2025. The meteorological agency recommends that people should be on guard against the possibility of prolonged severe cold spells, especially in the northern mountainous areas, accompanied by frost and ice.

At this time of year, many flights are sold out early. But this year’s survey shows that there is an abundance of tickets, with only a few flights on the peak days of the 4th and 5th of the first lunar month recording temporary sellouts.

The family of Ms. Hoang Anh, communications director of a consumer goods company in Ho Chi Minh City, usually books flight tickets in early September to return home early to prepare for Tet. However, this year, due to financial pressure, the whole family is still considering.

In a similar situation, Mr. Thanh, a delivery man in Ho Chi Minh City, said that instead of flying like every year, he switched to a bus to save half the cost.

Up to now, the “golden” routes such as Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi, Da Nang, Vinh still have tickets with round-trip prices ranging from 5.7 to 7.4 million VND (including taxes and fees). Routes to the Central region such as Ho Chi Minh City – Chu Lai, Hue, Dong Hoi only sold out on the 4th and 5th days of Tet (February 1 and 2).

On flights to popular tourist destinations such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc or Con Dao, where tickets are usually sold out early in the year, this year there are still many options with flexible schedules. Round-trip tickets cost only 2.6 to 3.6 million VND – not much different from normal days and even lower than the same period last year.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Huong, the owner of an agency in Tan Binh District (HCMC), this is a particularly difficult year for the airline ticket industry. “Last year, I had to pay half a billion VND in advance to hold tickets for sale, but this year the number of customers has decreased sharply. I only issue tickets when customers book,” Ms. Huong said. Over the past month, the number of customers booking Tet tickets at Ms. Huong’s agency has decreased by about 30% compared to the same period last year.

Not only the agents, but also the airlines themselves have clearly felt the decline in purchasing power. All airlines said that ticket sales are slower than in previous years. A representative of Vietnam Airlines said that the airline will continue to increase flights and add tickets to niche routes to ensure supply to the market. To meet the demand during the peak Tet holiday, Vietnam Airlines plans to rent 4 more planes, adding nearly 130,000 seats.

Particularly for tourist routes such as Con Dao and Phu Quoc, all airlines have recorded lower demand, partly due to recent natural disasters and economic impacts, which have reduced the number of tourists from the North going to the festival at the beginning of the year.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, domestic airlines will offer more than 5 million tickets during this time, of which Vietnam Airlines will sell more than 2.5 million tickets, Vietjet Air will sell 2.6 million tickets early and Bamboo Airways has also started a similar plan. However, ticket prices this year are higher than the same period last year due to escalating input costs and limited aircraft supply.

The agency will continue to closely monitor ticket bookings and price developments to direct airlines to add capacity when necessary, ensuring good service for travel needs during the 2025 Lunar New Year. However, with the current low purchasing power, the picture of the Tet air ticket market this year is clearly reflecting economic challenges and changes in people’s consumer behavior.

Source: vnexpress (Thi Ha)

After Donald Trump was elected President of the United States last week, tech CEOs such as Apple’s Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) all publicly congratulated him.

However, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has remained silent. According to CNBC , this is noteworthy because among the leading technology companies, TikTok faces the risk of being banned from operating in the US.

In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations by January 19 or face being banned. The move was met with bipartisan support.

Now, Trump’s return to the White House could provide a “lifeline” for the platform, according to CNBC . Trump began cozying up to the social network after meeting billionaire Jeff Yass in February, a major Republican donor and ByteDance investor.

Yass personally and his company Susquehanna International Group own 7% and 15% of ByteDance shares respectively, worth a total of $21 billion.

Mr. Trump launched his TikTok account in June and has amassed more than 14.5 million followers. During his campaign, he used the app’s uncertain future in the United States to rally voters. “We have no intention of doing anything to TikTok, but the opposition will shut it down. So if you like the app, vote for Trump,” he wrote on the social network Truth Social in September.

He has not publicly discussed his plans for TikTok since his election, but transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the new president will deliver on his promises. “The American people re-elected President Trump by a wide margin, giving him the authority to deliver on his campaign promises,” she said.

The Washington Post ’s own sources said the president is expected to try to block the TikTok ban after taking office. Given his experience with social media, Trump may not want to make a decision that would cause him to lose the attention and influence he has built on TikTok, Long Le, a China business expert at Santa Clara University, said.

However, some other experts say that trying to lift the ban could carry political risks for Trump, as he could be seen as being friendly to China, in contrast to the confrontational tone he adopted during his campaign. “This is a political issue,” noted James Lewis, a data privacy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Maintaining the TikTok ban could help Trump score points with lawmakers concerned about China’s global political and economic influence, said Milton Mueller, a professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy. “I don’t think he’ll score big points if he defends TikTok,” Mueller said.

In the scenario of wanting to throw a “lifebuoy”, Trump also cannot do it easily because he faces significant political and legal challenges, according to ABC News . The outcome may depend on support from a series of major congressional organizations and the Supreme Court to technology corporations such as Google and Oracle.

Specifically, the easiest way to reverse the policy is from Congress. To do so, both houses would need to vote to overturn Mr. Biden’s bill and send it to Trump for his signature. “The easiest way is to ask Congress to overturn the ban,” said Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University.

However, he noted that this is not an easy path. Seven months ago, the ban passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 352-65. In the Senate, 79 members voted in favor, compared to 18 against and 3 abstentions.

The second way is to bypass Congress, instead seeking to “buy time” in a lawsuit against the law that TikTok has filed and is being considered by a three-judge panel on the DC Court of Appeals (the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, one of 13 US federal appeals courts).

Even if the DC Court of Appeals rules against TikTok, it can still appeal and take the case to the Supreme Court before the ban goes into effect. The Supreme Court could decide that the case merits a stay, potentially throwing out the ban altogether. “The Supreme Court may want to consider this,” predicts Alan Rozenshtein, a law professor at the University of Minnesota.

Alternatively, rather than repealing the law or relying on court intervention, Mr. Trump could turn to the Justice Department, which could theoretically choose not to enforce the law under his administration, reassuring companies like Apple and Oracle that they would not face prosecution if they violated it, such as allowing TikTok to be downloaded and installed.

Or the Trump administration could come up with a more flexible interpretation of the ban that would allow it to conclude that TikTok has complied with the requirement to separate from parent company ByteDance. Cornell University professor Sarah Kreps said Trump could choose to propose “selective enforcement” that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the US without being penalized.

But if Trump chooses not to enforce it, that still won’t be enough. Companies like Apple and Oracle could decide to stick with the ban anyway, since they’re taking legal risks if the White House changes course, Rozenshtein said. “Trump is pretty unpredictable. If you’re Apple’s legal counsel, do you really want that risk hanging over your head?” he said.

The final option is to play matchmaker. Mr Trump could try to find a US investor to buy TikTok , helping the platform avoid a ban. But time is running out for such a large transaction. The law allows for a 90-day extension to sell TikTok, as long as the company is negotiating a deal. In that case, the deadline would be pushed back to April 2025. But the catch with this option is that TikTok has shown little interest and China has been opposed from the start.

For his part, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has remained silent before and after Trump’s victory. According to Long Le, the platform may be taking a neutral approach and a wait-and-see strategy.

Source: vnexpress.net – Phien An ( according to CNBC, ABC News )