LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault meets with Donald Trump, considers expanding U.S. factories

Luxury titan Bernauld Arnault met with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Monday and the chief of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton said he is considering expanding his factories, including two in the U.S., according to pool reports.

Arnault is looking at sites in North Carolina, and Trump said he is also considering a location in the Midwest.

“One of the great men, you know that, right? And they all love this country,” Trump said of Arnault after their meeting. “They’re going to do some wonderful things in this country,” he said, adding “jobs, a lot of jobs.”

Arnault’s son Alexandre was also seen with his father in the Trump Tower lobby and likely at the meeting with Trump. He was said to be toting an example of LVMH’s latest acquisition, a Rimowa suitcase.

Further details of the meeting were not immediately available. Arnault does have a major financial interest in meeting with Trump in terms of the Louis Vuitton flagship at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Stores in the area around Trump Tower at Fifth Avenue and 56th Street have been severely impacted by all the security precautions put in place to protect the president-elect. Some retailers in the neighborhood have said their business has declined by 30 percent or more because shoppers are being scared off.

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