Henry Racamier, who married a descendant of Louis Vuitton and built a family-owned leather goods company into one of the world's largest luxury goods groups, died on Saturday while traveling in Sardinia. He was 90.
The cause was a heart attack, according to the Opéra National de Paris, which Racamier, a well-known patron of music and the arts, supported almost his entire life.
Racamier had already made a fortune in the steel industry by 1970 before he was asked to run the family's leather goods business. His wife, Odile Vuitton, was the great-granddaughter of Louis Vuitton.
In 18 years, Racamier expanded it through growth and acquisitions into the world-renowned, billion-dollar luxury goods conglomerate we know as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Then, in a bitter battle with the current chairman, Bernard Arnault, Racamier was stripped of power and ousted from the board.
While running Vuitton, he started the yachting races that bear the company's name; and, as founder of the Louis Vuitton Foundation for Opera, Music and the Arts, he became a major benefactor of musicians and museums around the world.
Racamier was born June 25, 1912, in Pont-de-Roide, in the Doubs region of mountainous eastern France, the son of an industrialist. After acquiring a business degree in Paris, in 1949, he founded Stinox, a small but highly profitable steel-trading company. When his father-in-law, Gaston Vuitton, died in 1970, the family was divided about how to run Vuitton. Racamier, who eventually retired from steel in 1977, was asked to take over.
Vuitton had been synonymous with prestige almost since it was founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton, who was imperial layetier (or clothes packer), for Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. But by the time Racamier took over, the once-magical Vuitton operations appeared still mired in the 19th century. Vuitton had just two stores, one in Paris and one in Nice, and had annual revenue of about $14 million.
Bringing management skills acquired in the steel business, Racamier modernized the way Vuitton made and marketed its leather goods; and, more important, he tapped the immense Asian market.
In 1987, fearing outside takeover, Racamier announced the merger of Vuitton with Moët-Hennessy, the venerable Paris-based champagne and cognac producer, and renamed the combination LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The idea was that the combined group would be too large for a hostile raider.
Instead, the siege came from within. In 1988, Racamier invited Arnault, then a 39-year-old, relatively unknown French businessman, to invest in LVMH, hoping to gain him as an ally in a management struggle. But after joining LVMH, Arnault turned against Racamier. After a two-year battle for control, Racamier was ousted from the board. By the time of his departure, LVMH had more than 130 stores worldwide and annual revenue of $1.2 billion; Asia accounted for almost 40 percent of that.
After leaving LVMH, Racamier used a family holding company, Orcofi, to join the French banking group Paribas and the French cosmetics giant L'Oréal in buying the Lanvin fashion house. Many thought he would try to build a new luxury group to rival LVMH. Instead, he was content to indulge his two lifelong passions, music and sailing.
Racamier is survived by his wife; and two daughters, Caroline Bentz and Laurence Fontaine.