Robb Report
LVMH has jumped aboard to help Accor further elevate a travel icon.
The two French behemoths have entered a strategic partnership to breathe new life into the Orient Express brand.
« We’re delighted to enlist LVMH’s rare expertise to continue pushing further the frontiers of this legend and bringing its embodiment to life in an ever more singular way, » Accor Group chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin said in a statement.
Orient Express has come a long way since the first train hit the tracks in 1883, cementing itself as a symbol of elegance and luxury. Since being acquired by Accor in 2022, the brand has decided to expand beyond lavish locomotives and into other realms of hospitality. In addition to tolling out a revamped train next year, the team is planning to open the first Orient Express hotels in Rome and Venice in 2025. It is also working to launch the inaugural Orient Express sailing ship in spring 2026. (The first hull is currently under. construction at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France.)
As part of the new agreement signed Thursday, LVMH has made a « strategic investment » in the Orient Express brand though the financial terms were not discloses. As an investor, LVMH will bring its unique expertise in the world of luxury to the brand’s future hotels, trains, and ships. The conglomerate has a wealth of experience in these three fields. LVMH’s two hotel brands, Cheval Blanc and Belmond, collectively run over 50 luxury properties. Belmond also manages the Venice Simplon-Orient Express and five other luxury trains across the world. In addition, LVMH owns upscale yacht maker Royal Van Lent.