FRANCE: LVMH’s Arnault Wins Benjamin Franklin Prize

Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury products group LVMH, has been awarded the Benjamin Franklin prize for promoting Franco-American relations.The prize, presented by Ambassador Curley and Mr Michel David-Weill, chairman of Banque Lazard and a member of the Franco-American Foundation, is awarded every year to a personality whose work and initiatives serve to strengthen Franco-American links in all areas. The award will serve as recognition of the creative work that Bernard Arnault has achieved in the US as the head of LVMH - the promotion of American designers such as Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton) and Michael Kors (celine) and the building of the LVMH Tower in New York, designed by Christian de Portzamparc (winner of the Pritzker Prize in 1994); and in the field of economic development, encompassing that of Sephora US, the launches of Sephora.com and the E.Luxury and the acquisition of very promising cosmetics start-up companies such as Bliss, Hard Candy, Urban Decay, Benefit and Fresh.