French luxury goods giant LVMH has begun a review of its media business in the UK and France – two of its largest markets, ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 understands.
The review will place MediaCom on notice, but is a straight shoot-out between the Group M agency and Publicis.
Publicis won a pan-European review in 2019 that did not involve the UK and France, the latter being where the company has its headquarters.
Dentsu handles LVMH media in Italy, which is not part of the pitch.
A hybrid Group M team handles LVMH's media in France, meaning that this pitch is about whether Publicis can wrestle the rest of the European media business away from Group M.
The stakes are huge. In the UK, ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 estimates LVMH spends about €100m (£84m) on media each year; in France the figure is above €160m (£135m).
The review is designed to consolidate media spend from two key European markets not covered by the previous review, ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 understands.
It includes media planning, buying and optimisation and covers all 75 brands in the LVMH stable.
One interesting aspect of the review is what will happen with the media planning and buying of LVMH’s latest acquisition, Tiffany & Co. In the UK, that is handled currently by MediaCom’s sister agency, Wavemaker.
Some of the better-known brands in the world’s largest luxury goods group include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët Hennessy, Tag Heuer, Tiffany, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and Kenzo.
The group posted annual global revenues of €44.7bn (£38bn) in sales in 2020, which was down 17% on the previous year due to Covid. The group is estimated to spend about $6bn (£5.1bn) on global marketing each year.
±±¾©Èü³µpk10 approached IDComms, which is handling the process, for comment, but it declined.
None of the agencies involved would comment on the review, which ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 understands started this week.
Recently, Omnicom won the global media-buying account of Chanel in a competitive pitch, ending a 20-year relationship with WPP.
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