PARIS — Louis Vuitton Malletier, the fashion and leather goods brand owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has shed its stake in French leather goods business Le Tanneur.
A spokeswoman for Louis Vuitton confirmed the sale of 375,000 Le Tanneur shares for 3.9 million euros, or $5.4 million at current exchange, late last month to investors that included Le Tanneur president Herve Descottes.
Vuitton’s share in Le Tanneur represented 26.88 percent of the French firm, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the highly competitive accessories market.
Last year, Le Tanneur just about broke even on sales of 45.7 million euros, or $63.1 million, up 5.2 percent from 2004.
Vuitton purchased a third of Le Tanneur in 1999 after the luxury goods group inked a license for Le Tanneur to produce leather goods for Michael Kors, then the designer of the LVMH-owned Celine fashion and accessories house.
The firm today manufactures the Le Tanneur and Soco brands.