French town of Vendôme sells its name to world’s biggest luxury group LVMH for €10,000

French town of Vendôme cashes in on its name

Credit: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images Europe

The French town of Vendôme has sold the rights to its name to the world’s biggest luxury group LVMH for its jewellery products for a modest €10,000 (£8,750) in a move local critics say amounts to a cut-price Faustian pact with big business.

The word Vendôme is intimately linked with jewellery in France, notably because Paris’ Place Vendôme is home to some of the country’s exclusive gem boutiques, along with the Ritz. The square has been home to Louis Vuitton’s flagship since 2017.

The town of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher, however, was better-known for its links with aerospace and household appliances.

However, its mayor has struck a deal with LVMH so that it can use the prestigious word Vendôme on its jewellery. The group, which owns 70 brands including Louis Vuitton and Sephora, finalised the purchase of Tiffany & Co in 2020 for $15.8 billion (£11.4bn), believed to be the biggest luxury brand acquisition ever.

LVMH is owned by Bernard Arnault, the world’s third-richest man and France’s wealthiest individual.

Given the group’s global financial clout, Vendôme mayor Laurent Brillard denied he had been short-changed.

“Can we in all decency think it’s worth more?,” he asked. “I should remind you that we are targeting a very particular sector with a very limited target.”

“We are making an extra €10,000 for a name they could have used anyway,” he claimed, suggesting that many companies used it around the world in a variety of domains from cosmetics to property without paying a centime for privilege.

The French town of Vendôme has sold the rights to its name to LVMH for jewellery but not everyone is happy

Credit: Telegraph

While a large majority of municipal councillors backed the move, Greens councillor Florent Grospart slammed it as a “sell-out”.

“Privatising this word and turning it into an advertising slogan is a decision we cannot share,” he said on Facebook. 

“We’re not talking about a temporary sale or a licence…but a definitive relinquishment to a very big multinational for €10,000. A craftsman of our town can no longer use the name of his own town without begging for permission from LVMH,” he claimed.

However, the mayor insisted the deal was only for jewellery, on top of another for leather goods, and that “the tourism office sells little key rings with Vendôme on them and will be able to continue doing so. There is no problem,” he told LCI.

He said the group had already created 500 jobs in the town and intended to open two workshops creating in all 1,000 jobs in a town that has lost posts at a nearby Thales aerospace parts factory and another owned by Bosch.

Vendôme is not alone in selling the rights to its name.

Emmanuel Hoffman, an intellectual property lawyer, said: “If you take a town like Baccarat (of crystal fame), in the end it’s what you do with the name of your town that can enhance its status.”

The chic Norman seaside resort of Deauville signs around 50 contracts with luxury brands every year for up to €30,000 a shot.