Céline

"With Nan Legeai, former secretary to the head of Asia at Dior, it's a different story. Bernard Arnault had bought Céline, it is said, to give her a job that suited her. Slim, with crimped hair, this American shared with Bernard Arnault at least two passions: numbers and power."

"The report first analyzes the internal sales of Christian Lacroix and Céline. Christian Lacroix lost money every year from 1988 to 1998. Initially belonging to Financière Agache and La Belle Jardinière, mostly owned by Bernard Arnault, the company became the property of Louis Vuitton from 1993 onwards, which bought this loss-making machine for 80 million francs. "Subsequently, from 1993 to 1998, Louis Vuitton supported Christian Lacroix's losses for a total amount of 270 million francs," says the report, which continues: "The Christian Lacroix operation results in a profit for BSF, a company owned by Mr. Bernard Arnault, through various holdings, to the detriment of minority shareholders of LVMH, a listed company, all for an amount of around 300 million francs.""

"On the floor below, Bernard Arnault houses Financière Agache et Férinel. Further down, a constellation of SMEs spread across four sectors of activity: luxury (Dior, Christian Lacroix, Céline), distribution (Bon Marché, Belle Jardinière, Conforama), industry (Peaudouce, Saint-Frères, Boussac) and finance (Facet, Crédit Financier Lillois) 7."

"Five years for Férinel, two years for Boussac, one year for Lacroix, a few months for Céline... Bernard Arnault is going faster and faster."