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Former Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke has emerged as a frontrunner to become CEO and Chairman of the LVMH Fashion Group, several sources close to the French luxury giant said. Fashion Group includes Celine, Kenzo, Loewe and many other brands. Burke would replace Sidney Toledano, 71, who would become an adviser to 74-year-old LVMH CEO and Chairman Bernard Arnault and would continue to manage a few of the group’s brands including Moynat.

Another major development in the works is that Fendi and Loro Piana could join Fashion Group, Miss Tweed was told. The two Italian luxury brands are currently overseen by LVMH Managing Director Antonio Belloni. “It’s a project under study,” a source with first-hand knowledge said. Fendi’s growth has slowed down in recent years and needs fresh momentum, several sources close to the group said on condition of anonymity. LVMH has declined to comment on all these moves under consideration.

At its first-quarter trading update on Wednesday, Arnault did not specifically mention Fendi’s performance. He would only say that it opened a boutique in Seoul and one in Tokyo, two cities enjoying a strong rebound in luxury spending since the pandemic. When Arnault omits to mention the performance of a brand, it usually means it’s not doing too well, industry analysts say. Fendi is run by the affable Serge Brunschwig, who was previously head of Dior Homme and Celine.

Burke knows Fendi well, having run it for nearly a decade from 2003. Sources close to the group said it made little sense for Fendi to remain outside of the Fashion Group since it was estimated to generate close to €2 billion in annual sales, around the same size as Celine which is part of Fashion Group. In January, Arnault said Celine made more than €2 billion in revenue in 2022. Fendi would come under Burke’s supervision and possibly Loro Piana as well, the sources said. “If Fendi joins then it makes sense for Loro Piano to join the Fashion Group as well,” one source close to LVMH said.

Louis Vuitton and Dior, the group’s biggest sources of profit, are run directly by Arnault. They are not part of Fashion Group which includes Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Patou and Givenchy.

Burke, 66, is currently taking time off from LVMH, mourning the recent loss of his wife Brigitte with whom he was very close. Burke left his position as CEO of Louis Vuitton in early January to accompany his wife during her last days. His departure and succession had been planned for a long time but his desire to leave Louis Vuitton accelerated that process. Burke’s arrival at the helm of Fashion Group is not imminent. It could be in a few months, around the summer, the sources said. Burke and Toledano declined to comment.

Burke may not yet be mentally ready but Burke’s office on the eighth floor of LVMH’s headquarters at 22, Avenue Montaigne in Paris, is being renovated ahead of his nomination, several sources said. Arnault and Toledano’s office are on the ninth floor, the highest. “It’s a logical move,” one of the sources said. “Burke is the best-positioned to do that job. He’s a pillar of the LVMH group.”

On LVMH’s website, Burke is described as a strategic adviser to Arnault since February 2023 and a member of the group’s executive committee. Toledano is also a member of LVMH’s executive committee. It remains unclear whether he will remain a member once he resigns from his position as CEO and Chairman of the Fashion Group.

While there may be other candidates queueing up to take Toledano’s job, Burke is by far the best qualified, several sources said. Burke is one of Arnault’s closest lieutenants and a long-time rival of Toledano in terms of proximity and closeness to the luxury king. Burke, known for his pragmatic no-nonsense approach, is originally from the United States but resides in France. His friendship with Arnault goes back to the 1980s, when the two entrepreneurs made ill-fated real estate deals in Florida and Arnault returned to France to buy Dior owner Boussac Saint-Frères. Burke helped Arnault build LVMH and has since held several senior positions within the group.

The American executive was deputy CEO of Christian Dior Couture in the late 1990s and ran Louis Vuitton for more than a decade from 2012. He did an excellent job squeezing profitability out of the megabrand while maintaining growth thanks to strong creative teams. Until January this year, Burke was also Chairman of Tiffany’s board of directors for two years.

After LVMH acquired Bulgari in 2011, Burke was briefly CEO the Roman jeweler. Within a few months, he moved on to an even bigger job: he became CEO of Louis Vuitton. Due to health reasons, Louis Vuitton’s newly appointed CEO Jordi Constans, a Spaniard who headed Danone’s fresh dairy products division, resigned. Constans had been hired to be Arnault’s “yes man.” In 2011, Arnault brutally sacked Yves Carcelle, the charismatic leader who built Louis Vuitton and planted LV flags in many of world’s most promising luxury markets in Asia and elsewhere. Arnault was tired of the fact that Carcelle did not always listen to him. The French entrepreneur wanted his strategy to be implemented without resistance.

Burke was a safe pair of hands to whom Arnault could entrust Louis Vuitton. A strong operational manager, Burke does not question Arnault’s strategic decisions. Once he arrives at the helm of Fashion Group – if he does as planned - Burke will have several issues to tackle. One of them is Givenchy. The French brand has been struggling under designer Matthew Williams. As his contract ends, he is expected to leave by the summer. Industry sources predict he could be replaced by Paco Rabanne’s Julien Dossena, as Miss Tweed reported in November last year. Another problem child is Kenzo. Under Japanese designer Nigo, the brand’s sales growth has fallen short of expectations, industry sources say.

Burke would also have to supervise the renaissance of Pucci under talented designer Camille Miceli and pump resources into Patou, a promising brand LVMH acquired in 2018 which has yet to fully takes off. Patou is under the creative helm of Guillaume Henry, who resuscitated Carven and bolstered Puig’s Nina Ricci. Henry is regarded as a strong creative director and is frustrated with LVMH’s reluctance to grant him bigger budgets, industry sources say.

Toledano, who spearheaded Dior Couture for two decades, has always said that he did not wish to hear the word retirement. He will likely continue to play an active role at LVMH. Among other things, he will continue running Moynat, a leather goods maker aiming to challenge Hermès and Goyard. Moynat is part of LVMH but belongs to Agache, the Arnault family investment company. Toledano is of Moroccan descent and has roots in the Spanish city of Toledo, from where his Jewish ancestors were banished in 1492 by Isabela, the Catholic Queen of Castile.

He will look after industry-wide matters on top of working for LVMH. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board of the Institut Français de la Mode. Since its 2020 merger with the design school l’École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, the fashion school has grown into a federative force for the French fashion industry and is sponsored by several major players including Chanel, Hermès and LVMH.

In this capacity, Toledano will be expected to coordinate various cross-industry initiatives. He is President of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the body that decides which brands can join Paris Couture Week. Toledano is also a member of the executive committee of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and a board member of the Comité Colbert, France’s luxury industry lobby. Once he resigns from the top job at the LVMH Fashion Group, Toledano will likely remain busy.