What I learned from reading The Taste of Luxury: Bernard Arnault and the Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton Story by Nadege Forestier and Nazanine Ravai.
I am the boss.
I shall be here on Monday morning and I shall be running the company in person.
LVMH had entered a new chapter of its history.
Bernard Aulnull had taken power.
He did not realize how harsh his words sounded.
That was not the type of thing that he cared about.
For him, the stakes were altogether different.
Yesterday he had taken over Boussac, the ailing textile empire.
Today he was in control of LvMh.
A few days before his 40th birthday, this youngster was at the head of the most expensive company in France.
As chairman of the worlds leading manufacturer of luxury goods, he now owned the most prestigious french brands, Christian Dior, Christian La Cour, given Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, all acquired in less than five years.
He was the first of a new breed of capitalists.
Friday the 13 January 1989 was the day that he took office.
The 15 people invited to witness the event at LVMH's head office were beginning to filter into the large conference room.
They each had played a decisive role in this affair, which had all the makings of a greek tragedy.
They all knew they had no choice but to go along with Arnall.
He quickly inspected those present.
Only one was Henri Rockamir, the chairman of Louis Vuitton.
This senile old fool, as he had started to call him, was really beginning to get on Bernards nerves.
He had to get rid of him as soon as possible.