Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jewellery, watches, leather goods, pens, firearms, clothing, and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange[2] and the JSE.[3]
The brands it owns include A. Lange & Söhne, Alaïa, AZ Factory, Buccellati, Cartier, Chloé, Delvaux, Dunhill, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Mr Porter, Net-a-Porter, Panerai, Piaget, Peter Millar, Purdey, Roger Dubuis, Serapian, The Outnet, TimeVallée, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vhernier, Watchfinder & Co., and Yoox.
As of August 2025, Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. was the fourth-largest corporation by market capitalization in the Swiss Market Index.
History
Johann Rupert founded Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. when he spun off the international assets of Rembrandt Group Ltd. (now Remgro Limited), a South Africa-based company founded in the 1940s by his father, Anton Rupert. The division, originally founded on 5 March 1979 as Intercontinental Mining and Resources S.A., was later renamed IMR Group S.A. on 31 March 1987 and finally Richemont S.A. on 17 August 1988. The spin-off was completed on 20 September 1988. The luxury goods investments of Rembrandt Group combined with Rothmans International formed the initial group of Richemont subsidiaries.[4]
In October 2008, the Group divested all of its remaining interests in the tobacco industry.[5]
As of 2014, Richemont is the second-largest luxury goods company in the world after LVMH.[6]
Organization
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A. organizes its business activities into three operating divisions: Jewellery Maisons, Specialist Watchmakers, and Other Businesses.[1]
Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Buccellati constitute the Jewellery Maisons.[1]
The Specialist Watchmakers group is composed of A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, and Vacheron Constantin
Ownership and control
As of 2023, Compagnie Financière Rupert, a Swiss company that holds shares controlled and principally owned by Johann Rupert, was the only significant shareholder of Richemont with 3% or more of the voting rights. It held 6,263,000 Richemont Class "A" shares and 522,000,000 Richemont Class "B" registered shares, representing 10% of the equity of the company and controlling 51% of the company's voting rights.[20]
Investments
Subsidiaries
Richemont's portfolio is made up of Maisons (brands).
The following companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., except where specified that they are partial ownership.
Jewellery
- Buccellati – jewellery and watches; based in Milan, Italy
- Cartier – jewellery, watches, leather goods, fragrances, eyewear and accessories; based in Paris, France
- Van Cleef & Arpels – jewellery and watches; based in Paris, France
- Vhernier[19]
Former investments
Richemont acquired British clothing retailer Hackett Limited in 1992. On 2 June 2005, Richemont announced its sale to Spanish investment company Torreal S.C.R., S.A.
In 1998, Richemont bought a controlling stake in Shanghai Tang.[22] In July 2017, Richemont announced that it had sold Shanghai Tang to a group of investors headed by Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Bastagli.[23][24]
In 2000, the Group sold its minority stake in Vivendi, representing its exit from all previous media interests, which had included NetHold and Canal+.
Richemont and Mimi So formed a joint venture in 2004, Richemont's first investment in an American brand.
Website blocking
In October 2014, the first blocking order against trademark-infringing consumer goods was passed against the major British Internet service providers by Richemont, Cartier International and Montblanc to block several domains selling trademark-infringing products.[29]
External links
References
- Annual Report and Accounts 2025 Richemont, 1 May 2025, retrieved 27 October 2025^
- RICHEMONT N SIX Group, retrieved 30 November 2023^
- First Last. List of companies with secondary listings on the JSE (as at 30 June 2023)