LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault (Pictured) has said the crisis affecting the Middle East could end in “world catastrophe” if it is not resolved.
Arnault, who has served as CEO since 1989, spoke at the French luxury fashion house's 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on 23 April in Paris, France.
“The world is now in a fairly serious crisis in the Middle East,” said Arnault, whose comments were translated into English by LVMH during the webcast.
“Either it will be a world catastrophe, with extremely serious and highly negative economic impacts, and if that is the case, who can say how 2026 will unfold?
“Or it will be resolved more quickly somehow, as we all hope – even if it does not look easy.
“And in that case, business will gradually return to normal.”
“It is quite unpredictable. If the second scenario is confirmed, I think growth in our various activities will resume.
“If not, we will be faced with a crisis. It will not be the first, and chances are we will continue to gain market share, as we did in 2025.”
Arnault’s comments follow LVMH reporting a lacklustre start to its first quarter of 2026 trading, dragged down by a slump in demand for perfumes and cosmetics.
Revenues decreased 6% to €19.1bn, a 1% increase on an organic basis, compared with €20.3bn in Q1 2025.
The results were offset by beauty retailer Sephora, which saw revenue growth and gained market share across all its operating regions and particularly in the UK.
LVMH said it is bracing itself against the current geopolitical and economic environment, including the conflict in the Middle East, as it remains “vigilant yet confident at the start of the year”.
Arnault is the only beauty executive to speak out on the ramifications of the US-Iran war, with L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus also weighing on the conflict.
The French beauty giant’s top executive spoke about the impact of the Middle East conflict on its business, both directly in the region and more widely, in a statement accompanying L’Oréal’s first quarter financial results, which were revealed this week.
(Photo Credit: Wiki Commons, Jérémy Barande)
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