Rumors suggest the conglomerate might divest not only from Zenith, which has faced regular losses over the past quarter-century.
According to the Swiss publication Blick, LVMH wants to divest from the watch manufacturer Zenith. Rumor has it that the company was put up for sale through investment banks as early as the end of 2025. At the same time, a pre-sale preparation began with an expert assessment of the state of the proposed sale object ('due diligence'). It is not specified whether negotiations are underway with one particular buyer or if LVMH has several potential buyers.
Neither Zenith nor LVMH has commented on this information yet. However, if true, it is assumed that in any future deal, Benoît de Clerck - CEO of Zenith since 2024 - will lose his position.
The basis for such rumors is grim. In the last 25 years, Zenith has almost annually suffered losses of around CHF 20-30 million. Although specific data on individual watch houses is not publicly available, judging by the reports of LVMH's regional structures, the situation is indeed dire. In the UK, for example, watch sales in 2024 fell by 36%, and there is no reason to believe that 2025 was any better in this regard.
TAG Heuer's financial results are not much better. Annually, the company loses CHF 40-50 million or about 10% of its revenue. Watch journalist Gregory Pons predicts that under such circumstances, the current CEO of TAG Heuer, Antoine Pin, who has managed the brand since September 2024, will leave his position in the coming weeks.
Many watch industry experts blame the situation on Bernard Arnault's son Frédéric, who managed the company from 2020 to 2024 and continues to do so behind the scenes of the current leadership. During his official leadership period, Arnault Jr. persistently invested in the development of smartwatches. This is seen as a strategic mistake, resulting in TAG Heuer losing between CHF 200 to 250 million since 2015.
Some experts believe that in the long-term, LVMH plans to completely divest from brands that specialize solely in watch production and retain only those brands like Bulgari, Chaumet, and Tiffany, where watches are just one of the products.