PARIS – Growth is good and the more, the better.
That’s a paradigm seasoned executive François-Henri Bennahmias wants to challenge – and eventually change – across the luxury industry with The Honourable Merchants Group, unveiled Wednesday at a conference in Luzern, Switzerland.
With the new company, structured as a holding entity and headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland, Bennahmias wants to “change the world of business as we have known it for a long time,” he told WWD in an exclusive interview.
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“Since the end of the Second World War, the world has worked on ‘more’ and wanting ever more, growing – that was normal after a conflict,” he continued. “But in the last 20 years, we’ve started to notice that [this] has started to wreak havoc on the environment, on a human level. There are plenty of things that are being penalized by this perpetual quest for more.”
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His goal with The Honourable Merchants Group is to bring a new mindset to the luxury industry. Describing The Honourable Merchants Group by turns as “an ecosystem” and “a movement,” he intends to prove that financial performance can be paired with ethical business practices as well as positive human and cultural impact.
It’s a project that started to germinate after meeting Brunello Cucinelli and a subsequent visit to Solomeo, he explained.
At the time, the Italian entrepreneur had recently been awarded the Honorable Merchant distinction by Germany’s Global Economic Prize.
Cucinelli’s longstanding and successful approach was “a revelation” to Bennahmias and the term struck a chord with the watchmaking executive, at the time CEO of Audemars Piguet.
One fundamental for Bennahmias’ group and its future constellation of brands is ensuring that the entire value chain of a business benefits by redistributing a portion of profits to all employees.
The holding’s purview will include eight to 10 business verticals, including watches, jewelry, fashion, security, sports, electric mobility solutions and wines. Each vertical will have its own pool of investors, with Bennahmias leading the charge.
“I am putting my [personal] funds in each vertical for one reason: I’m gonna put my money where my mouth is,” he said.
But don’t expect a large check to be an immediate in. Would-be investors will “have to share our rules” particularly in terms of redistribution, he continued. On top of that, he wants “intelligent money,” where would-be investors also bringing skillsets to the table capable of advancing the stated goal of a paradigm shift.
While he declined to name investors at this stage, he said The Honourable Merchants Group had a pipeline of investments of “several hundreds of millions” Swiss francs.
Patience will also be an essential for the group and its allies. The founder said growth would be sound but “on the time needed, whether it’s three, five or twelve years,” he said. “I don’t care, we aren’t here to tap out in two seconds, we are here to do things the correct way and in good time.”
He outlined calculations in which incentives would not be taken until the value of a brand has been tripled, but would be “a consequent part of the value created” once over that threshold.
For the launch, Bennahmias unveiled luxury asset management company Avalon and cycling specialist Viiala as the first two newly-created brands under The Honourable Merchants Group’s umbrella. Others are coming into the fold as the result of acquisitions, although he did not yet name them.
In addition to companies gearing up to go to market in the short-to-medium term – Viiala’s first bicycles are expected on the roads in 2028 – The Merchants Group will also have an incubation arm, “like a second division in soccer,” the founder said.
“I’m launching a competition because we will invite universities as I want to launch a movement and say that whoever has crazy-good ideas, we are going to accompany you – not financially – but to build,” he explained. “And if you meet what you announced in terms of turnover, results and keep your commitments, you can potentially move up to premier league and join the Honourable Merchants.”
Among the schools invited are French business school HEC and the EHL Hospitality Business School in Luzern.
Bennahmias firmly believes younger generations will be particularly atuned to his approach and wants to foster the passing of experience as much as nuture future business leaders.
“There is this virtuous ecosystem where we mix generations who all want to work together,” he said.