five leaders you must know

i remember sitting in economics lectures eons ago, thinking about how big exactly are multi-national companies. how much money can the top companies in an industry generate? well, A LOT... before we move to the nitty gritty five things of the fashion industry, there are just five companies (which are market leaders) that one must know...

LVMH global logo, image courtesy of Forbes

1) lvmh: french multinational apparels and accessories company headquartered in paris. the company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house louis vuitton with moet hennessy. it controls around sixty subsidiaries that each manage a small number of prestigious brands... brands include fendi, donna karan, emilio pucci, givenchy, kenzo, berluti, moynat, louis vuitton, marc jacobs, loewe, celine, thomas pink, bulgari, tag heuer, zenith, hublot, chaumet...

Francois-Henri Pinault with wife, Salma Hayek

2) ppr: previously known as pinault-printemps-redoute until 18th may 2005. the company is a french multinational holding company which develops a worldwide brand portfolio distributed in 120 countries. it was founded in 1963 by the businessman francois pinault and is now run by his son, francois-henri pinault. subsidiaries include fnac, gucci, puma, stella mccartney, alexander mcqueen, balenciaga, sergio rossi, yves saint laurent (or saint laurent), bottega...

Shanghai Tang Fall/Winter 2012 featuring Hu Bing, He Sui and Hyunyi Lee

3) richemont: compagnie financiere richemont s.a. is a swiss luxury goods holding company founded in 1986-88 by the south african businessman johann rupert. the group's activities and products include jewellery, fine watchmaking and premium accessories, which encompasses writing instruments, leather goods and fashion. it is the second-largest luxury goods company in the world by turnover, behind lvmh moet hennessy - louis vuitton s.a. the list of subsidiaries would include alfred dunhill ltd, cartier, chloe, maison azzedine alaia, met-a-porter ltd, shanghai tang...

Victoria Beckham with her Hermes Birkin bag

4) hermes: hermes is renowned for its handmade luggage and handbags. the company does not use assembly lines. only one craftsperson, who may have been employed by the company for decades, makes a single handbag at a time, hand-stitching individual pieces with linen thread and using an awl. hermes international s.a., or simply hermes, is a french manufacturer of quality goods established in 1837. part of hermes' management secret is keeping it in the family.in june 2013, axel dumas will become joint-ceo of hermes international. dumas is a member of the sixth generation of the hermes family and is currently the chief operating officer.

Beyonce in L'oreal ad

5) l'oreal: the l'oreal group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. with its registered office in paris and head office in the paris suburb of clichy, hauts-de-seine, france, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics with concentration on hair colour, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfume and hair care. click here for their list of brands...

if you didn't know about them before, you're welcome!

fash'on... BAM!