Information War Before Every Battle

"Bernard Arnault, from this time on, calls on specialized firms in what is now called economic intelligence, that is, the search for information, concerning his competitors as well as within his own group."

"In mid-February 1999, Pierre Godé and James Lieber, the group's attorney for sensitive affairs, met with Nicolas Waldmann in Paris, accompanied by Thomas Helsby, the head of Kroll Associates' London office. The objective of the meeting was to launch an investigation into Gucci as well as its two main leaders, Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford. A letter from Kroll, addressed to the leaders of LVMH, dated February 16th, was clear: "Your group currently holds a significant stake in a foreign company," Nicolas Waldmann wrote to Pierre Godé."

"In addition to the official war, there is also a secret war. While they are battling, for now in vain, on the legal front, mobilizing international lawyers, LVMH's leaders will also resort to other methods to discredit their opponent. They will again use the services of Kroll Associates, but this time on a massive scale. The goal is no longer to quickly obtain usable information to identify the weaknesses of a target and better negotiate, but to extensively, widely, and deeply gather a considerable amount of information and documents on François Pinault. Once collected and analyzed, they will be provided to LVMH's top management. This vast intelligence operation will be carried out along two lines of work. On the one hand, documentary investigation, using databases, public archives, and confidential interviews with all kinds of people, including officials and journalists, allowing them to develop analyses, memos, and seek new leads. On the other hand, operational research, essentially trash digging, called black forests (forêts noires) in the terminology used in Anglo-Saxon agencies, carried out by a third-party English company. At no point in any of the documents we have been able to consult is there any trace of clearly illegal activities, such as unauthorized wiretaps, document theft in private premises, or home invasion."

"For the first time, LVMH is calling on Kroll Associates, an American research firm specializing in economic intelligence. The mission is to uncover Racamier's secrets. However, the results are not up to par, and time is running out."