For several years now, the publicly-quoted giants of the luxury goods sector – LVMH, Richemont and PPR – have been watched closely for signs that they were returning to the acquisition trail.
Yet having binged on deals at the end of the 1990s and early on in the new millennium, the big three have so far chosen not to embark on a second wave of large-scale consolidation, even though a benign cocktail of international economic growth, falling trade barriers and changing consumer habits has buoyed their finances.
