Louis Vuitton Buys Aston Martin... And Then They Don't

[YSSMAN]

Wow. Looks like were going to get a bit fancy now, are we?

French luxury goods maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA — better known as just Louis Vuitton — has won an auction to acquire Aston Martin from Ford, according to a German news report.

The news will appear in weekly auto magazine Autobild tomorrow, according to MarketWatch, which obtained an advance copy of the article. The Autobild report cites well-placed but anonymous sources.

Earlier this week, bidding ended for Aston Martin, which has been up for "auction" since August. Ford is selling the successful sports car company in order to raise much-needed capital.

Ford will retain a 15 percent stake in the company, according to the report. No details on the sale price were given, but a report by Britain's Sunday Times in December put valuation as high as $1.2 billion.

...I can't say I'm completely surprised. It will be interesting to see what happens with the company after it ends it's relationship with FoMoCo. The end of the world? Not quite. The best thing that could have happened? Not necessarily. We'll see I suppose.

 

[JCE]

Wow, what a waste of the best looking set of cars in the world. Aston has never made an ugly car in my eyes...and they might start after this purchase. I can almost hear Clarkson now, "damn French are going to ruin Aston". What's next? Calvin Klein buying Jaguar? ...no I should of said that...

*edit*
Oh and I forgot to mention that FORD 6.0L V12 that AM uses is one of the best soundtracks today.

 

[Jay]

Ooohh the French is invading England!

Looking cautiously forward to what he will do with Aston.

 

[weiss_komet]

Wow, its been a while since i've been here. Anyway, i find this very amusing. Gee, i wonder what the new interiors are gonna have in them. Yay Louis Vouiton Specials.....ugh

 

[TheCracker]

LVMH already have some impressive (if not automotive) brands in its portfolio:

Hennessy
Krug
Mercier
Moët et Chandon (including Dom Pérignon)
Veuve Clicquot
The Glenmorangie Company
Dior Watches
TAG Heuer
Zenith International S.A.
Donna Karan
Christian Dior SA
Emilio Pucci
Valentino
Fendi
Givenchy
Kenzo
Louis Vuitton
Marc Jacobs
Thomas Pink
Le Bon Marché
Acqua di Parma
BeneFit Cosmetics
Guerlain
Kenzo Parfums
Parfums Christian Dior
Parfums Givenchy

- Aston Martin are in good company

 

[V1P3R]

Uh... ok. So, More expensive for no good reason then. I can just see all of Hollywood jumping on that one... First I'll predict Paris Hilton or Linsay Blowhan getting one, then being interviewed and starting off with... "like OMG".

 

[Dave A]

I can't say I'm completely surprised. It will be interesting to see what happens with the company after it ends it's relationship with FoMoCo.

They arn't ending their relationship with Ford, the relationship is merely changing focus.

Wow, what a waste of the best looking set of cars in the world. Aston has never made an ugly car in my eyes...and they might start after this purchase.

Why? There is absolutely no reason why thier designers would all suddenly start designing ugly cars.

Oh and I forgot to mention that FORD 6.0L V12 that AM uses is one of the best soundtracks today.

And, are you trying to say that Aston will no longer be able to use that engine, or that there is no chance that they will be able to use an engine just as good or better?

Uh... ok. So, More expensive for no good reason then. I can just see all of Hollywood jumping on that one... First I'll predict Paris Hilton or Linsay Blowhan getting one, then being interviewed and starting off with... "like OMG".

Why? Why would they become more expensive for no reason? Because Luis Vitton owns them? What does that have to do with Aston Martins position in the market? Not a damn thing. Honestly, what the hell is up with you people. Your talking about this like your just looking for an excuse to have a moan at something. This is not a bad deal for Aston Martin, it doesn't mean they will go up in price, it doesn't mean they will start making ugly looking cars and it doesn't mean that they will no longer get good engines and mechanicals.

 

[Touring Mars]

What's next? Calvin Klein buying Jaguar?

Donna Karan

Yes, we could see more of this sort of thing... DKNY this, FCUK that, the possibilities are indeed endless.

 

[TopHat]

Just as long as they keep Iam Callum and Henrik Fisker designing the cars themselves, I'm fine with it.

 

[Rue]

Oh dear me. Let's hope they don't make the cars as tacky as their bags. The only good thing I can see coming out of this is that there will be plenty more on Hong Kong roads as the Chinese obsession with LV goods is almost worrying.

 

[Jim Prower]

the problem I see is that, not being a car sompany, they'll still make Ford (or someone else) shoulder the brunt of the engineering work. You can't make a car fashionable without proper engineering, and LV's portfolio, as far as I see it, has no real automotive engineering expertise.

 

[TheCracker]

the problem I see is that, not being a car sompany, they'll still make Ford (or someone else) shoulder the brunt of the engineering work. You can't make a car fashionable without proper engineering, and LV's portfolio, as far as I see it, has no real automotive engineering expertise.

Louis Vuitton can't have much expertise in producing Champagne either but i don't see aficionados complaining that Moet or Krug isn't what it used to be.

Aston are pretty much a self sufficiant engineering outfit - sure, they use Ford's deep pockets to fund R&D, but anyone's deep pockets would suffice for that.

I'd also argue that TAG have a pretty good track record on the technology side of things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techniques_d'Avant_Garde

 

[Dave A]

All that matters is money, how much money Luis vitton will invest in Aston Martin, Aston Martin already have thier own engineers, they're already are capable of building thier own engines, their own gerarboxes ect. Under Fords ownership they didn't have to, they probably still won't have to but all they would need if they did, is cash. The engineering expertise is alerady there. The fact Luis Vitton has little automobile experience is a nothing matter. The people working in Aston Martin will be the people coming up with all the ideas. All the big guys at Luis Vitton will be doing is signing them off or not and providing Astons cash flow.

 

[TheCracker]

It would make poor ecconomic sense to not invest a suitable amount in AM. LVMH may seem small but their yearly revenue is almost 1/6th of that of Ford's.

 

[Specialized]

Well at least you might get a nice Luis Vitton luggage set with you Aston or maybe even some Luis Vitton driving shoes..........

Spec....

 

[Kent]

I didn't know Tag was a LV company.
Now I wear a watch made by Swiss people who are working for French people.
Guess that means the next big watch purchase will be a Rolex.

In any case, if LV messes with Aston Martin at all I'm willing to bet it will be a bad thing.
Right now AM looks great to me but I can easily see them becoming an overweight status symbol... Just think of really heavy DB9s and tacky Vanquishes.

Let's hope not.
Btw, I think I may have bought my tag before LV bought the company (I hope so!).

 

[Touring Mars]

I just hope they don't make the upholstery in the same dreadful style as their bags ... or worse still, even produce something like this...

 

[exigeracer]

Thanks TheCracker and live4speed for taking the proper economic outlook on this. Before clicking on the thread I already saw a string of posts in my mind, all of which denouncing someone like LV having a big stake in an iconic car company. Good to know there are some people with level heads on here.

Judging their track record, I think that Aston Martin will be fairly well off with these people in charge. They also figured out how to sell people a 10$ handbag for 4,000$, they must have something figured out right.

I didn't know Tag was a LV company.
Now I wear a watch made by Swiss people who are working for French people.
Guess that means the next big watch purchase will be a Rolex.

I didn't know people (seemingly smart ones) really still hold pointless childish grudges against other countries like that. I guess you learn something surprising every day.

 

[franz]

Good future for AM 👍
I believe they may pull some LV edition or Fendi edition of DB9 or something
that may help AM gaining more rep in upscale society
TAG may be useful in racing and engineering too
one thing I concern is if 007 movies still can use AM for their movie
since the deal is between ford, not LV

 

[Kent]

I didn't know people (seemingly smart ones) really still hold pointless childish grudges against other countries like that. I guess you learn something surprising every day.

Thanks, much appreciate that.
I seem smart!

Btw, don't let Cyril see this, he might suddenly forget everything he knows about me and realize I hate his guts just because he's french!

Exige, did it ever occur to you that the motivation for my words could be more complex than the first "childish grudge" that comes to your mind?

 

[exigeracer]

People can seem smart and be smart as well.

Prove me wrong. Really.

 

[Kent]

People can seem smart and be smart as well.

Prove me wrong. Really.

I'm smart enough to know the above is bait for a childish fight... I'm even smart enough to know better than to take that bait.
This is a thread about Aston Martin being bought out, not what politics motivate my opinions on French owned watch makers.

 

[YSSMAN]

Thanks TheCracker and live4speed for taking the proper economic outlook on this. Before clicking on the thread I already saw a string of posts in my mind, all of which denouncing someone like LV having a big stake in an iconic car company. Good to know there are some people with level heads on here.

Well you can't say that it isn't a little strange for some people to be attempting to wrap their heads around what amounts to a collection of fine merchandise to buy a car company. Granted, I knew that Louis Vuitton was in a relationship with Dior, but not everything under their umbrella was known to me.

There is a lot that can go wrong in this situation, and there is a lot that could go right. As I said, it will be interesting to see what happens. I'm sure that TAG will start selling special-edition watches (I'm interested), and I'm positive Aston will start selling their cars with special luggage, clothing, etc. It is a lucrative buy for LVMH and Dior, and the product synergy will probably play out well in the end.

I didn't know people (seemingly smart ones) really still hold pointless childish grudges against other countries like that. I guess you learn something surprising every day.

Well, we're all just crazy, pissed-off Americans who don't appreciate other cultures and societies that are different than our own. Of course, people don't call out the other side for hating the other one just as much, but that really doesn't matter.

...Either way, I think he was making a joke, and it was funny, thereby making it not to big of a deal...

 

[Dave A]

There is a lot that can go wrong in this situation, and there is a lot that could go right.

Aston are in a far better position under Luis Vitton than they would be under an organisation like VAG. The simple reason is as it stands now, they might as well be independant, only here they have the benefit of LV's funding. For example, if VAG owned Aston Martin, the V8 Vantage would either dissapear, or get toned down some more. The reason would be conflicting brands, in VAG's case porsche would not have Aston Martin being a higher company than they are. That kind of ownership is not good for Aston Martin. This way the Lusi vitton can let Aston realise their full potential without them conflicting with other brands. Lets face it, there's no way that Aston and Hennessey will start stepping on each others shoes. Sure we may start to see some merchandising in this deal, but when it comes down to the cars, I don't think Aston Martin could have asked for to be put in a more comfortable position.

 

[YSSMAN]

You're probably right, I know I wouldn't want another British company to fall into the hands of a German superpower. Best-case-scenario would have been a bunch of private British investors keeping it a solely British brand, but even then, the French money won't hurt. Ford didn't exactly hand money out like they should have, and hopefully LVMH will do what they should to keep Aston afloat and building the cars that they should have been for the last few years.

 

[ND4SPD]

I just hope they don't make the upholstery in the same dreadful style as their bags ... or worse still, even produce something like this...

That guy must be a baller or something.

If Aston Martins are gonna be showing up with funky interior designs I'm gonna flip.

 

[Scaff]

Well it now looks like LV are saying they are not the successful bidder, the following is from Pistonheads.com

Bidding for Aston Martin, which cash-strapped owner Ford is selling to raise a bit of wonga, is turning into a bit of a mess.

Or at least, it is for LVMH, the French group that owns luggage brand Louis Vuitton among dozens of others. The company's huge, turns over some $14 billion, and was heavily tipped on some news sites last week as Aston's new owner.

The company has since rebutted the suggestion, saying that the rumour was "absolute rubbish", and that there was no truth in the story. LVMH said that it was involved in the bidding for AM at first but "didn't even get to first base".

According to Autocar, AM boss Ulrich Bez was also vocal about being none too keen about working under a company with zero automotive industry experience, which can't have done much for LVMH's chances.

So we'll wait for the winner of the bidding to be announced, which is due in about a month. And given that it's likely Ford will retain a stake in the company, it may not be the highest bid that wins, but the one that offers the company the best chance of survival.

Source - http://www.pistonheads.com/astonmartin/default.asp?storyId=15827

The plot thickens

Scaff

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Awesome, now I'll be able to go downtown, and buy a V8 Vantage that looks, feels, and drives, exactly like a normal one, but has a slightly different emblem on the badge, for five quid! Knowing Aston, it'll probably be more reliable than the original, too, the "replica" makers can't possibly be any worse.

 

[TheCracker]

Knowing Aston, it'll probably be more reliable than the original, too, the "replica" makers can't possibly be any worse.

Don't be so sure...

 

[Dave A]

Awesome, now I'll be able to go downtown, and buy a V8 Vantage that looks, feels, and drives, exactly like a normal one, but has a slightly different emblem on the badge, for five quid! Knowing Aston, it'll probably be more reliable than the original, too, the "replica" makers can't possibly be any worse.

What on Earth are you on about?