Hermès CEO Axel Dumas has provided some details about the ongoing legal battle over the luxury goods company's shares.
According to Business of Fashion ( BOF ), Axel Dumas said he has reason to believe that 82-year-old heir Nicolas Puech no longer holds $16.2 billion worth of shares in the retailer. The newspaper also noted that Puech's former wealth manager passed away last week, further complicating matters.
Thierry Hermès and the Hemès store in Paris in the mid-19th century
PHOTO: AUTHENTIC-SHOES
"I am certain that Nicolas Puech no longer holds his shares. This is why we have initiated legal proceedings. He is very bad and has been harshly criticized many times, even when he was with Hermès," Dumas told reporters on July 30 during an earnings call, according to BOF .
Dumas, a sixth-generation descendant of company founder Thierry Hermès, added that he did not believe the shares could be recovered.
Puech is the fifth-generation heir to Hermès, the brand founded in Paris in 1837 and best known for its Birkin bags . According to Fortune , Puech left the supervisory board in 2014 amid turmoil when LVMH acquired a 23% stake in Hermès. It is unclear what will happen to Puech's stake, BOF reported.
In December 2023, the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève reported, as cited by the New York Post , that Puech was planning to name a “former gardener and home repairman” — an unnamed 51-year-old man — as his heir. Puech is not married and has no children.
Hemès Birkin Bag
PHOTO: HERMES
The newspaper reported that Puech would likely transfer half of his inheritance to his former gardener. At the time, he was still sorting out the assets for benefactors and could pass the rest of the money on to others.
According to the Tribune de Genève , Puech has begun legal proceedings to divide the inheritance for the man, who is of Moroccan origin, married to a Spanish woman and has his own family. He also inherited real estate worth $5.9 million from Puech in Marrakesh, Morocco, and Montreux, Switzerland.
According to BOF , Puech accused his former financial advisor Eric Freymond of mishandling his assets inherited from Thierry Hermès in 2023. Last week, Freymond died in Switzerland.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-thua-ke-hang-san-xuat-tui-hermes-de-lai-tai-san-cho-nhan-vien-lam-vuon-18525080207423423.htm
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