LVMH Beauty puts Philippe Farnier in charge of travel retail

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 7, 2022

French executive Philippe Farnier has moved to a new sector. Farnier, who has been with LVMH since 2008, is leaving cognacs to return to fragrances, after being appointed Travel Retail CEO for the LVMH group’s Beauty division. He will spearhead the entire travel retail business for the division, as well as that of Parfums Christian Dior, becoming an executive committee member in both entities.

Farnier will therefore report both to Hugues Dusseaux, deputy president of LVMH Beauty, and to the CEO of Parfums Christian Dior, Laurent Kleitman. “Working in close cooperation with both labels, Philippe Farnier will endeavour to open up multiple commercial opportunities, strengthen our cooperation, increase our knowledge of the market and encourage the sharing of expertise and best practices. He will also boost the organisation and activity of both front and back-office functions,” LVMH stated in an internal memo.

This appointment coincides with the recent departure of Gianluca Toniolo, since 2017 the luxury giant's global managing director for perfumes and cosmetics travel retail, who recently joined Dolce & Gabbana as operating CEO of the new company created by the Italian luxury label to look after its beauty business.

Farnier left Rémy Cointreau at the start of the year after a seven-year stint, first as CEO of the spirits group’s US subsidiary, then from 2018 as the head of cognac brand Rémy Martin - a post he handed over to Jean-Philippe Hecquet in February - while also being in charge of CSR for the group.

For Farnier, this new function within LVMH Beauty marks a return to his professional roots, since he has spent a large part of his career in the perfumes sector. A graduate of EDC Paris and Columbia University, after working initially at Kraft Foods and then Heineken, he started in the fragrance sector as sales manager of Yves Saint Laurent Beauty in 2003. Three years later, he became the company's managing director France.

In 2008, he joined the LVMH group as managing director France of Parfums Christian Dior, and in 2013 he was promoted to the post of managing director travel retail EMEA, a post he held until he moved to Rémy Cointreau in 2015.

“[Farnier’s] business acumen, his solid experience in the beauty sector and his in-depth knowledge of the group's ecosystem will be major assets for the growth of LVMH Beauty's travel retail business. Philippe will be able to tap his 30-year experience in business and talent management. He will undoubtedly bring crucial added value to the division,” said Dusseaux.