Day two of LVMH at VivaTech: Friday 25th May 2018
LVMH
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Chairman & CEO Bernard Arnault announces the winner of the LVMH Innovation Award 2018
The second day of Viva Technology 2018 has commenced and not a single chair in the main stage area is left unoccupied as eager attendees await the announcement of the winner of this year’s LVMH Innovation Award. “We had a record number of applicants this year.”, CDO of LVMH, Ian Rogers, called to the crowd as he stepped on-stage. “60% more applicants than last year. It was challenging to narrow that great pool of talent down to the thirty finalists sitting before me today, but with the help of our jury, we have selected a winner”.
Welcoming to the stage last year’s winner Tony Pinville, founder and CEO at HEURITECH, LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault and his son Alexandre Arnault, CEO of RIMOWA. “Thanks to this award, we had a major press coverage worldwide.”, says Pinville, “We are now starting to develop our business worldwide, in the US, in Europe and in Asia”. Handing over the microphone to the Group Chairman and CEO, Bernard Arnault echoes the words of his CDO: “This year, VivaTech becomes a real fantastic success. It’s a sign of the growing importance of France for technology and entrepreneurship. France is becoming—and I am very glad about this—an entrepreneur country and a tech country.”
Reiterating the importance of startups to the LVMH group, Bernard Arnault continued, “Although we are the largest French company on the stock market, we try to stay mobile. We try to keep that real startup spirit.”. Handing the microphone to his son to announce the winner, a tense moment of silence followed before Alexandre Arnault called out “OYST”. Ushered on-stage by the audience’s applause, Oyst Founder and CEO Julien Foussard thanked the jury, before touting his creation to the audience and the wider world watching: “When you want to buy a simple white tee-shirt on an e-commerce website, it takes eight steps. Why? Online check-outs are a major issue for merchants and consumers alike. Oyst has created a button that allows shoppers to make purchases in a single click without providing additional details.”
Congratulations to Oyst, the runners-up Kronos Care and Vechain, and to all the other contenders.
How to make it in China: Andrew Wu discusses China’s potential with Ian Rogers
As morning turns to afternoon, Group CDO Ian Rogers switches budding entrepreneurs for established empires at the CEO Forum stage where he sat down with LVMH Group President of Greater China, Andrew Wu. “China is a difficult place to miss on the map. And for the past few decades, China has been developing its consumer market considerably.” Wu begins. “There are new needs arising in China every day and to be successful, you need to meet a need.”
Probed on the state of the start-up ecosystem in China and the role of entrepreneurs in the future of China, Wu is optimistic: “Our catching-up is in progress. China wants to be more open. There is a capacity to change and improve, and technology—including the internet—has been a catalyst for that change.” Echoing his optimism, Ian Rogers concludes with “If you are an entrepreneur in China and you have success, the potential for scale is enormous.”
Presentation Round-Up: Digitising the luxury experience
Throughout the day, many of LVMH’s seventy Houses were given a platform in the LVMH Luxury Lab to discuss ongoing digital projects that have revolutionized both their processes and performances. From building a virtual reality experience of Hennessy’s new bottling site to creating art with augmented reality technology for Ruinart, even the oldest Houses of the LVMH Group are embracing the innovation that the digital age offers their brands.
Later in the day, Glenmorangie told us how they are utilizing the latest research in experimental psychology to create spine-tingling content for their online platforms and Veuve Clicquot presented their latest audacious addition to the world of champagne: Clicq’bot, the world’s first automated sommelier, able to answer your questions about champagne and even advise you on how to pair it. An update on the renovation of La Samaritaine followed, highlighting how innovation has been fundamental to restoring the historic building to its former glory.
Next up on stage were two young teams from the Inside LVMH Program who pitched their ideas to the onlooking crowd. Tim Noir were aspiring to redefine retention with an LVMH gifting program spanning decades, while Berluteam rethought the after-purchase care of Berluti’s shoe consumers aiming to make the luxury experience a daily one through an app connected to a consumer’s shoes. Concluding with remarks from the CEO of luxury watch brand Zenith, who was passionate about the 152-year-old House embracing the startup spirit. One thing was certain as the second day of Viva Technology 2018 drew to a close: Time at VivaTech is running out fast.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the third and final day of this year’s VivaTech!