Sales boom at luxury shoe and suit brand Berluti

What brand of shoes does Bernard Arnault wear? It should come as no surprise to learn that Arnault, the owner of £300bn luxury goods giant LVMH and the richest man in the world, prefers footwear created by one of his houses, Berluti.

Berluti has been owned by LVMH since 1993. Sales at its British subsidiary rose 15 percent to £12.4 million in 2023, while profits rose 36 percent to £763,000.

The company said it “continues to show great strength and has achieved an increase in its turnover” despite a year of “continued economic and political volatility with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.”

The brand’s trainers cost around £1,300. A pair of smart loafers, which are more Arnault’s style, sell for around £2,000. It takes 50 hours to make these shoes, following a tradition that began in 1895 when Italian cabinetmaker Alessandro Berluti arrived in Paris with ambitions to branch out into footwear.

Non-billionaires also wear Berluti. In addition to shoes, the company also specialises in ready-to-wear and tailored suits for men, but also for women, including actress Zendaya, star of Dune.

The 1,500 French Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be dressed in Berluti for the Opening Ceremonies of the Paris Games, with jackets inspired by the classic tuxedo.

If they manage to win medals, they will also wear another product from LVMH, one of the main sponsors of the Games.

The medals for all the events were made by the Chaumet jewellery house, another historic LVMH house. Each one contains a fragment of the Eiffel Tower, preserved from a repair of the monument.

Berluti is run by Jean-Marc Mansvelt, who took over from Bernard’s eldest son Antoine Arnault earlier this year. Antoine is credited with elevating Berluti from a shoemaker to a global menswear brand. He is currently LVMH’s head of communications and image and president of cashmere brand Loro Piana.