Yahoo Finance LVMH Is Investing in Orient Express Trains, Ships and Hotels
Pushing deeper into luxury hospitality and experiences, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is investing in the Orient Express brand, with ambitious plans to add more trains, sailing ships and hotels.
LVMH revealed a “strategic partnership” with publicly traded French hotel giant Accor SA, which acquired Orient Express in 2022.
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Financial terms — including the size of LVMH’s stake — were not disclosed.
Its investment extends to “the company that will operate the future hotels and trains, and in the entity that will own the two sailing ships.”
“The first ship is currently under construction at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, France, and the two groups will continue to search together for a third partner for this new venture,” LVMH and Accor said in a joint statement after the close of trading on the Paris Bourse.
Initially founded by a Belgian rail company, the Orient Express train embarked on its first journey, from Paris to Vienna, in 1883 and eventually extended services across continental Europe through to Istanbul.
“Orient Express has embodied adventure and elegance since its origins,” Bernard Arnault, group chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH, said in a statement. “Its name has become part of our cultural heritage and remains a source of inspiration for the greatest artists.”
He added that the mythic train “epitomizes the art of refined living and the audacity that drives each of our houses. We are delighted to be partnering with Accor to accelerate the renewal of this travel icon. Each of our groups will bring the best of its expertise to take Orient Express to the pinnacle of the art of hospitality.”
(Foreshadowing the deal, in 2016 Dior rebranded an Orient Express train for its 2017 cruise show at Blenheim Palace in England, decking it out with crystal stemware and fine linens embroidered with Blenheim Dior Express logos.)
On Wednesday, LVMH said it would “add its unique expertise in high-quality products and services, illustrated in particular in the world of travel, by the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train and the five other trains also operated by Belmond around the world.”
LVMH significantly widened its footprint in the hospitality sector with its 2018 acquisition of luxury travel operator Belmond Ltd., owner of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train and hotels including the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro and the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, for $2.6 billion in cash.
Belmond’s other luxury trains are the British Pullman — which boasts a carriage designed by filmmaker Wes Anderson — the Royal Scotsman, the Eastern & Oriental Express in Singapore and Malaysia, and, in South America, the Andean Explorer and the ’20s-style Hiram Bingham.
Wednesday’s announcement thrusts Accor, whose 45 hotel brands operate across more than 110 countries and encompass some 5,600 properties, further into the luxury sphere.
Its luxury and lifestyle division encompasses the Raffles, Fairmont and Potel & Chabot brands, and has “enabled Accor to rejuvenate the experience for clients in search of excellence and distinctiveness,” the statement said.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor Group, said Accor is “reinventing the art of travel, discovery and great odysseys” via the Orient Express brand.
“With LVMH today, we are opening a new chapter in this exciting journey, with the ambition of exploring new horizons and embodying the audacity and creative passion that drive our groups,” Bazin said. “We’re delighted to enlist LVMH’s rare expertise to continue pushing the frontiers of this legend and bringing its embodiment to life in an ever more singular way.”
The partnership is expected to yield new ventures for trains, hotels and sailing ships “whose exacting standards will reflect an extraordinary positioning within the travel world,” the statement said. “The renaissance of an historic train and the launch of the first Orient Express sailing ship in 2026 will be the next steps in this renewed impetus.”
In addition, Orient Express plans to open its first hotels in Rome and Venice “while continuing the selective development of its global destinations,” it added.
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