LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (MC) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I hereby open the Shareholders' Meeting and thank for your presence via its broadcast on the website of our company during the epidemic. The continuing health crisis and the need to maintain measures, limiting or banning group gatherings, led our company to hold the annual AGM behind closed doors at its registered office. Only Messrs, Antonio Belloni, Jean-Jacques Guiony and Bernard Kuhn; and the 2 scrutineers, Mr. Sidney Toledano representing Christian Dior and Nicolas Bazire representing Agache, are physically present at this meeting. No admission card has been issued. You were invited to exercise your right to participate before this AGM by giving power of attorney to the Chairman or to a named third person or voting by correspondence, by postal vote, via Internet on the VOTACCESS secure platform. To allow you to participate best during the meeting, we've allowed you, in addition to the legal provisions of written questions, to send in questions by e-mail to the shareholders address as of the 24th of March up until yesterday noon that we will respond to on the basis of a selection of topics. In accordance with legal and regulatory provisions in force, Christian Dior, represented by Mr. Sidney Toledano; and Agache, represented by Nicolas Bazire, were appointed to act as scrutineers, and they've agreed. Mr. Bernard Kuhn, General Counsel of LVMH, was appointed to act as meeting secretary. Together, they comprise the meeting bureau. This information was published on the website the 1st of April this year. For this meeting to take valid decisions, we need a quorum of 1/5 of shares with voting rights for ordinary resolutions and 1/4 for extraordinary resolution. Given the exceptional conditions of meeting of this AGM, the final quorum and the results of the votes were adopted at 3 p.m. yesterday, the closing time of VOTACCESS. And I can inform you that the quorum has been reached, all the legal documents for holding this meeting as well as answers given by the Chief Executive and Chief Operating office upon delegation of the Board to the written questions of shareholders on the desk. All the written questions and answers were published on the website of our company before the opening of this AGM. I would, therefore, suggest we dispense with reading of that. As per law, the documents that must be sent to the AGM were made available to shareholders at the head office for 21 days preceding this meeting or sent to those who requested them. Regarding questions sent in by e-mail to the shareholders address, I suggest we come to those after the presentations. The agenda of our meeting and the resolutions to be found in the convening notice and the documents that were placed online on the 25th of March, I suggest we dispense with reading those and move straight to the presentation of our 2020 results. This meeting as part of an outreach policy with shareholders, similar in 2020, led to a notice of meeting available on Internet, available to the noncited presentation of the meeting available on Internet. Before handing over to Mr. Jean-Jacques Guiony, CFO, who'll comment in detail the results of the year, I'd like to stress how much LVMH in 2020 displayed remarkable resistance in the face of the unprecedented health crisis. Our priority was to protect the health and safety of our teams and customers. We also were involved directly in the fight against the pandemic. Our houses displayed great agility and creative energy to consider to make aspirational products available to our clients with a unique digital experience, strengthening that desirability accompanied by strong commitments for the environment, sustainability and inclusion. I'll come back in greater detail to these points in due course. Over now to Mr. Jean-Jacques Guiony, who will discuss the figures of the year.

Good morning, everyone. Let me introduce the main financial items for the year 2020 for the group. As we always do, we start with sales. And what you have up on the screen is, of course, a negative development because of the COVID crisis in 2020. Sales down to 17% for the year as a whole, but it's broken down in various effects. You have the currency effect, that's almost nothing, but 16% decline in organic growth, so negative growth for the year as a whole. You should note and you can see it on this slide that there are 2 very different half years. You have a 28% decline in H1, and there were many shops closing down, many businesses closing in a number of countries in H1. So sales -- organic sales down 20% in H1 but only 5% down in H2. We're not used to having declines, but 5% is relatively good in that context, which is why we arrived at 16%. But there's a big contrast from H1 to H2, and you find the same contrast looking at the various indicators. Looking at sales per region, you can see big contrasts between H1 and H2. Starting with the U.S. U.S. had a slightly better performance than the group as a whole, minus 13% for the year but minus 24% in H1 and only minus 3% in H2. And yet the U.S. has suffered the closing of a number of airports. We would almost have made it into positive territory had it not been for the airports. Japan, significant drop, 32% in H1 but rebounded in H2. Asia is the territory where the contrast between H1 and H2 is starkest because we're down 24% -- minus 24% in H1 but plus 17% in H2. This is because business picked up, but also some of the purchasing that was normally done by Chinese tourists outside Asia was now performed inside Continental Asia. And finally, Europe, that was more challenging. We were down 33% in H1, and H2 was not that positive because -- well, that is a corollary of what I said about Asia. We haven't got in Europe sales to tourists, which, of course, for reasons that you know, did not return in H2. Now looking at different -- at the businesses, you find the same trend on the screen. Wines & Spirits performed rather better than the group as a whole, only 14% down for the year as a whole but minus 23% in H1. So first half was very challenging, but there was a rebound, plus 7% in -- no, down minus 7% only in H2. Fashion & Leather Goods down 24% in H1 but very positive in H2, indeed, plus 15%. That's the only business which recorded such a rebound. And we arrived more or less stable compared to last year for that business, more or less the same as the year before. Perfumes & Cosmetics, so there was -- well, declined 22% for the year. But the first half was the one that suffered most in H1 but some recovery in H2. And finally, Selective Retailing. Well, there are 2 things, DFS and Sephora. Sephora did not rise back once the shops opened, but DFS suffered because of international travel. That is true in Europe. That is true around the world. So it was very difficult for DFS for the year as a whole, not just in H1 but in H2 as well. If you look at the income statement for the year as a whole, you have, of course, a reflection of what I said. Sales down 17%. Gross margin down 19%. That's 1.8% less than in previous year. Sales and marketing expenses were down as well as admin. On the whole, we're looking at a 14% decline in these marketing and G&A expenses. And I can -- I really would like to commend our teams for achieving such a performance. Profit from recurring operations. Well, of course, that suffered because, of course, sales declined less than expenses. We were down, so 32%, but you -- if we look at the -- well, the other expenses, there was a EUR 333 million charge. That's because of depreciation and amortization of intangible assets and the acquisition of Tiffany. Financials. Operating profit and profit from recurring operations, more or less the same performance. Financial results. We have EUR 608 million. That is because we had a marking to market of our financial holdings. There's not much change. It's not that our financial holdings declined, but they did not increase as much as the rest. Taxes were 33%. They were -- this was up 5 points because of a number of nonrecurring factors. I will not go into the details. The group share of net profit was EUR 4.7 billion, about 1/3 less than last year. Still looking at profit from recurring operations, looking at the different businesses, you can see that just about all the businesses were down in 2020. This is true of Wines & Spirits, down 20%. Fashion & Leather Goods, more or less stable, only minus 2% compared to last year despite a huge decline in H1 but a significant rebound in H2. Perfumes & Cosmetics and Watches & Jewelry, which were in the red in H1, renewed -- returned to profit in H2. And so all in all, you have a positive result for the year, but -- well, 88% down for Perfumes & Cosmetics and 59% for Watches & Jewelry. But Selective Retailing is down EUR 200 million for the year as a whole. What you should note here is that, well, we -- for the year as a whole, you had a 28% decline, minus 68% in H1. We made that comment. But in spite of it all, there was a rebound, plus 7% in H2. So in spite of it all, profit from recurring operations was actually up 7% in H2. The financial position is sound. We have the equity accounting for 36% of our assets, so significant equity. Not much change. Inventories were slightly down compared to last year. We were very careful to avoid having too much inventory at a time when business was slow. All in all, a few things changed. But in that -- in the balance sheet, you have debt and cash that was being earmarked for the acquisition of Tiffany. That had been -- of course, been prepared financially, but the balance sheet is very sound again. More significantly than the static analysis of the balance sheet, looking at net debt and free cash flow for the year 2020. Compared with last year, we start with what is in brown on the histogram -- on the bar diagram, cash flow then. Cash flow for the year 2020 was about the same as in 2019, give or take. And from my viewpoint, this is quite a remarkable performance in view of the -- well, the business conditions hard to be -- achieve this. Well, there was less cash flow at first, but there was less CapEx and less working capital requirements because inventories did not increase as much. As previous years, we were very careful about inventories, and that means that free cash flow, which is what's left in the coffers at the end of the year, was more or less the same as what we had the previous year. As a result, we were in a position to reduce our debt to -- we were -- we had a EUR 6 billion debt -- EUR 6.2 billion debt at the end of 2019, EUR 4.2 billion only in 2020. So debt climbed down from EUR 6.2 billion to EUR 4.2 billion. But of course, that level of debt does not include the acquisition of Tiffany, which occurred in January 2021. So the actual debt corresponding to that acquisition will be visible in the accounts of June 2021, but it is not listed in the accounts as of 31 December 2020. A few words about the dividends. And that should be noted, and this is, of course, important to shareholders, the AGM -- today's AGM will be proposed a EUR 6 per share dividend. This is in line with what was said in -- for 2018, that is in 2019, so the last year prior to the pandemic. So we are going back to normal on dividends. We paid a EUR 2 interim dividend in November 2020. So the balance of EUR 4 will be paid out in the days to come if this is accepted by the AGM. A few words about the share price. You can see that this has grown significantly in 2020. Of course, there was a drop when the pandemic broke out. So you can see the blue curve is LVMH and the red one is CAC 40. They grew more or less in line for -- between January and April 2020. But after April, the rebound of the LVMH share price was much greater. We're now up 37% compared to January 2020, while CAC 40 is more or less stable. Finally, by way of conclusion, turning to 2021. What you have here on the screen is the sales development compared to H1 2020, so comparing H1 2020 into H1 2021, which is -- it is just a trend. You have numbers for organic growth. That's in green compared to 2020 and in blue compared to 2019. And you can see that organic growth was 30% up compared to the year 2020, which is, of course, good news. You might say, well, there's not much of an achievement because 2020, of course, had suffered the pandemic as early as February, especially in China. So this is true. And that is why we decided to also look at the numbers of 2019. And of course then, there were no external factors. And even compared to 2019, looking at the same period, Q1 2019, we are up 8%. So this is looking at Q1 2020, the first quarter of 2021, we can see that not only are we doing better than in 2020, but we're also doing better than in 2019 for the first quarter of the year. The currency effect is negative, 6% negative effect. It was more or less stable last year. So that is something we have to look for -- look out for this year. But we are quite happy with business -- with the sales performance in Q1 2021. That is the financial presentation. Thank you.

We propose not to read in detail the management report that is available on our website. Let's look, first of all, at the key events and highlights of the group during 2020, which was a year like no other for all of us. Seize the initiative. We all know this famous motto of the French field marshal, [indiscernible]. It's in that mindset that I addressed the crisis whose first effects were felt right to the beginning of 2020, that spirit of resistance against fate that I wish to spread throughout the group. One year later, I know with pride, LVMH displayed remarkable resistance in the face of this unprecedented health crisis that the world is going through, and the teams demonstrated unfailing commitment to resist. I welcome that, and I thank them. From the beginnings of the crisis, the constant priority of LVMH was protect the health of its customers and teams. I requested all our maison, take the necessary teams to support our teams and preserve their integrity with a dedicated task force. The group was actively involved in the collective fight against the pandemic. Very often, at the initiative of personnel, many maison interrupted their usual operations to place the expertise of their workshops and logistics expertise to the general interest throughout the world. These initiatives contribute to the urgent supply of hospitals and local communities in masks, gowns, gel, ventilators and other essential equipment. Direct support was given through several donations for a total amount, very substantial, both to the Paris Hospitals Foundation, the Chinese Red Cross and the Pasteur Institute in Lille to launch a clinical trial in order to verify the efficacy of a compound tested in vitro. LVMH displayed good resistance in the face of the health crisis. Of course, the pandemic affected all our activities with varying degrees depending on the period and region. The halting of international travel hit hard and still affects LVMH and the hotel sector and travel retail. Throughout the world, all houses developed their sales with local customers, and a strong recovery was felt in Asia as of the second half. At the same time, the United States and Japan experienced a significant increase in trends, the diversification of activities and locations to which [indiscernible] played its role as a shock absorber. But our major brands, like in 2008, last crisis, increased. They lead the quality of their products, redoubled creativity, key values for our customers seeking long-lasting products, but of course, and you'll see that in the presentation subsequently, the meaning of these products. Louis Vuitton, Dior, in particular, buoyed by the success of their models and the many new products, deliver remarkable performance in the second half 2020. Hennessy displayed good resistance, strengthening its status of #1 brand of premium spirits. Amongst the many trends heightened by the pandemic, the digitization of our activity accelerated sharply. This ramp-up of digital was made possible by the lead that we've enjoyed for quite a while. We also were able to rapidly adapt our working method. The strong increase of e-commerce partially offset only the impact of the closure of group stores, notably at Sephora where online sales reached an all-time record. Lastly, LVMH in 2020 was able to maintain its operation and cash flow at a level on par with 2019 at over EUR 6 billion. Let's now look at the main topics from the online consultation this year as part of the AGM to sound out your questions about the group. In 2020, the world experienced an unprecedented public health and economic crisis. In this disrupted context, you have hailed the company's resilience, its stock performance and its commitment to society during the pandemic. As shareholders, you are concerned about the post-COVID future. How is the group preparing for a recovery? What is the long-term strategy? What will be the next generation of products? At the AGM, many have asked about the acquisition of Tiffany & Co. How will this be integrated in the group? Will this require repositioning for the Jewelry business? You also asked about the group's development strategy. What's the plan for Armand de Brignac? How does the group propose to grow its catalog of brands? This year, you paid special attention to the sharp increase in the share price and the group's dividend policy. What are LVMH's intentions and what is planned for the year -- for the 2020 dividends? Finally, LVMH has long been committed to sustainability and responsibility. You wish to know what it has done in the present context and what it proposes to do in the future. Many of you asked us about our initiatives in terms of corporate, social and environmental responsibility. Our commitments are not new. For many years now, we've been developing our products to the most exacting standards in terms of working conditions, biodiversity and minimizing our carbon footprint. As I said at the outset, the health and safety of personnel were absolute priorities. The crisis recall the importance of safety of our employees, and a health and safety charter will be rolled out soon. Among the many initiatives in favor of society, there are many to support the younger generation. We support young people in their professional plans through many partnerships with schools, universities in France and abroad. In 2020, 110 events were organized. And since January of this year, 25 events gathered over 5,000 students worldwide. In 2021, we plan 9,500 recruitments of permanent employment and internships and alternating work. We know the employability of young people was hard, notably for those from modest social background. That's why the group developed its involvement in their favor in France. The group was already supporting the association. Our neighborhoods have talent, offering young job seekers a mentorship ensured by a group manager. In 2020, we doubled the number of people involved to grow that to 150. And since 2007, 640 youngsters found a job having been mentored by group employee. Our employees contribute to LVMH performance. We must ensure them that our organization rests on principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. The group's code of conduct recalls our commitment in the fight against all forms of discrimination based on gender, disability, color or sexual orientation. During the Black Lives Matter movement, the group condemned all form of racism and conducted many initiatives such as the appointment of a Head of Diversity and Inclusion in the United States for all our houses. In 2020, our policy in favor of gender equality continued to bear fruit. Women now occupy 71% of permanent positions in the group, 64 positions of managers and 42 of key posts as against 23% in 2013. 16 of our houses are led by women, 3x more than in 2019. Consolidated at group level, the professional equality index stands at 20 -- at 91 points out of 100. In 2020, the group also increased actions in favor of LGBT persons. To develop all these diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives, LVMH put in place in 2018 a tool, the inclusion index. In 2020, 148 initiatives were included to promote gender equality, 65 initiatives to promote the inclusion of LGBT individuals involving over 30,000 people. Our commitment for inclusion is outside. We set up in 2019 LIVE for jobs vocations under the impetus of Madam Brigitte Macron to help people to get back into the jobs market after first difficulties. After a first campus at Clichy-sous-Bois, another was opened at Valence last March, and a third will be set up in Roubaix in September. After the first class, almost 80% of the beneficiaries were allowed to implement their project through a job or training. From design to sale through manufacturing, our high-quality products rest on perfect mastery of unique skills. Within the group, there are 150 trades of excellence in craftsmanship, design and sales. To enhance this unique heritage, we've decided to create the LVMH Trades of Excellence whose mission is to transmit, enhance and propagate these unique skills. Our Institute for Excellence Trades is now part of this capability that allows the group to ensure the transmission of its skills to the young generations, developing, thereby, their employability because 78% of apprentices trained, over 1,000 to date, continued their studies and joined the house of the group or one of our partners. Launched in 2014 in France, the IME has demonstrated the strength of its model and has developed in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and in 2020, in Japan. And other countries are now on the list. Over now to Antoine for the group's commitment in terms of environmental responsibility.

Good morning, everyone. Our program LIFE 2020 for the environment whose purposes we defined in 2016 was completed at the end of 2020. The performance reflects the -- our houses' commitment to the major challenges of the day. On climate, we did even better than objective. Our carbon emissions related to the energy consumption of our sites and shops were down more than 36%. Our objective was reached prior to the COVID crisis, thanks to the increase of renewable energies in the energy mix. On the preservation of natural resources, which make our products so unique, leather, grapes and gold, are also defined according to the most stringent standards in line with our objectives. We also changed the code of packaging lighter with less environmental impact, and they are disruptors as is the case for Ruinart second skin. This performance in line with the 30 years' experience in environmental achievements enable us to go past LIFE 2020 with a determination together with our houses to step up progress. That is the ambition of LIFE 360, the new environmental compass of the group, defining the future with action plans for the years 2023, 2026 and 2030 in 4 areas: first, our products because their excellence is also in environmental excellence. We propose to have them part of a circularity and creativity loop to reduce their environmental footprint using recycled materials, biosourced fibers, have innovative materials. This is not a burden. It's a new source of inspiration. Louis Vuitton has shown the way by making determined steps in that direction. As we have with the new virtual Abloh connection with upcycling, we have a new durability sustainability for our products. We cannot create new experience without abiding by strict principles. Traceability of our supply is one such requirement. We have -- we will continue our certification policy and ensure that our suppliers are true partners of our environmental performance. As you know, grapes, cotton, vegetal species and breeding are essential to produce our goods. We have to return to nature what we borrow from nature. With regenerative agriculture as we have in our vineyards, with our living source policy, thanks to our partnership with UNESCO, we were able to rehabilitate in 2030 as many as 5 million hectares of fauna and wild life. In -- on the climate, we have to be exemplary. Our objective is to bring down by 50% by 2026 our carbon emissions by using 100% renewable energies. We also are reducing Scope 3, that is transportation and raw materials, bringing down to 55% of the footprint by 2030 per unit of added value. This is an ambitious project, but we need to have a holistic approach. We will reintroduce biodiversity, trees in vineyard, as is the case for the champagne houses. But we also want to improve the quality of soil and improve the soil's ability to capture carbon. With LIFE 360, we are renewing our commitment for biodiversity and climate, responsible growth, preserving natural resources. We want our products to be more than ever the signature of our environmental ambition, and it will be my pleasure every year to give you a progress report. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for that presentation of our commitments in favor of protection of the environment. Let's turn now to the outlook for the group in 2021. We're beginning with the year with a joy of welcoming within our group the iconic house of Tiffany in jewelry that you all know and its teams in the U.S. It's an iconic house, iconic of America. It's synonymous of love. And the famous blue box is recognized throughout the world. I'm sure we'll be able to disseminate it even more widely with the determination and passion that we have deployed over the years for each of our prestigious houses. We have every confidence in the ability of Tiffany to accelerate its growth, to innovate and to remain the most desirable jewelry brand. There are others, notably, Fred, Bvlgari, Chaumet, but Bvlgari is an -- it's an iconic brand and it is the most important and today leads global jewelry. Managerial changes occurred at the start of the year with the appointment of Anthony Ledru as CEO; and Alexandre Arnault, Executive Director in charge of Products and Communication. Michael Burke, CEO of Louis Vuitton, was appointed Nonexecutive Chairman of the Board of Tiffany. You asked questions about the change in our brand portfolio and the recent stake in the Wines & Spirits, 50% of Armand de Brignac champagne. This investment allows the group to strengthen its position in the prestige, high-end segment of champagne in parallel with our prestigious brand, Dom Pérignon, the unchallenged leader in high-end champagne, and also with Krug and many other brands in our portfolio. Armand de Brignac has a very specific positioning with high potential. One of the strengths of Moët Hennessy is to grow houses and brands of the same category champagne and benefiting from smart synergies, notably in its distribution, while guaranteeing their full specificity both in the product and its expression. Regarding group strategy. LVMH, we are imbued with our long-term vision, the horizon to which we deploy. One of the strengths is that we are family owned. Even if we are listed, we have a long-term vision, and we're not attached to quarterly results as is the case for other listed companies, notably in Europe or America. We remain attentive to preserving the value and expansion of our brands, their image, desirability of our products. The most important thing is the long-term desirability of our brands. We continue to digitalize our houses to enhance the experience online and in stores. Interaction with our customers will remain at the heart of the expansion of our companies. As I've said many times before and as I have noticed since I've been in charge of this group, crises make us stronger. Our houses have experienced many during the past decades. And each and every time, we learn the lessons, and they are a powerful main spring for the years of growth that follow. As with the past, we'll be able to transform this ordeal into success because we will offer products that are creative and innovative, that are aspirational, and we're gaining market shares, the case with all the other crises we've weathered up till now. Even if the future in terms of the pandemic remains uncertain, we can be reasonably optimistic. The hope of vaccination seems to indicate the end of this health crisis. And I'm convinced that LVMH is well placed to rely 2021 on the recovery that the world expects and to strengthen still further our lead on high-quality products. My conviction is all the more strong because it relies on fundamental value shared with our employees, our partners, customers and shareholders. Let me recall them here as I do traditionally every year. First of all, creativity, the quest for innovation, the quest for excellence and quality in all our initiatives and products. The spirit of enterprise makes the group agile, facilitating risk-taking and encouraging perseverance. Lastly, a commitment for a positive impact. We have a profound sense of responsibility, a duty of exemplarity to transmit from generation to generation. In each of our houses, we strive to ensure that the products and the way they're manufactured has a positive impact on our ecosystem and communities. And our group contribute actively to a better future. In light of the presentations that have just been made, I would suggest that we dispense with reading the reports of the Board of Auditor. And now over to the statutory auditors.

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, good morning. It is my pleasure to introduce on behalf of the auditors the report that were prepared for the AGM. These reports were made available, so I will just give you a summary. There are as many as 7 reports: one on the statutory, one on the parent company financial statements, on the company financial statements, on the related party agreements and a special report on related transactions on the share capital. Our audit reports were prepared in a complex and changing context on the global crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed particular conditions on the preparation and audit of the financial statements for this year. I will start with the reports on the LVMH parent company for the first resolution. These accounts were prepared according to French accounting principles, and we believe that valuation of equity investments and provisions for contingencies and losses were the key items. In our opinion, we certify the accounts without reservations. Regarding the consolidated financial statements established using IFRS standards, we believe that the following issues were key audit matters: valuation of fixed assets, in particular, intangible assets; valuation of inventories and work in progress; and provisions for contingencies and losses and uncertain tax positions. As a result of our audit, we will certify the accounts and draw your attention to the consequences of the first implementation of IFRS 16 in recognition of rent concessions granted by lessors in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding resolution #4, we published a report -- special report on regulated related party agreements. This was in keeping with the decision of -- the Board of Directors' decision on an exceptional compensation to Mrs. Sophie Chassat in connection with an assignment entrusted to her by the Board of Directors. The agreements and the commitments authorized in prior years and which remained in force in 2020 are also presented in this special report. Finally, regarding the exceptional part -- extraordinary part of the AGM, we had 4 reports on resolutions that may have an effect on the share capital. You have an authorization to reduce the share capital, delegation of authority for the issues of shares or securities, authorization to grant shares -- share subscription or purchase options to employees and/or executive officers and the issuance of shares or securities of the shares -- company's share capital reserved to employees, members of their savings plan. We have nothing to report on these transactions, which comply with the conditions provided by the French Commercial Code. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, Mr. President, thank you.

As I indicated in my introduction, we gave you the possibility, in addition to the legal possibility of written questions, to send in questions by e-mail. Mr. Antonio Belloni will now provide answers to a selection of questions representing the themes that drew your attention. Mr. Bernard Kuhn will then speak to read the resolutions and present the results of the votes on the resolutions.

Thank you, sir. Regarding the questions we received by e-mail, we selected several questions which drew our attention. The first is about the late frost, which seems to have had an effect on vineyards in France. What is -- what are the consequences for champagne and cognac? It is early days, but we have to remind you that cognac and most of our champagnes are made using various vintages, which makes it possible to smooth out the effects of harvest and vintages and preserve the constant quality, and this for the master of wines to do this. We are in a position to win more advantageous positions than still wines that are traditionally vintage wines regarding the year 2021. Regarding both champagne and cognac, there is a reserve systems which has been set up to adjust for possible losses from 1 given year. The second question is about Tiffany. Its acquisition gave rise to a media battle. Is this to say that you hesitated to acquire before acquiring Tiffany? Well, indeed, there were some disagreements as to decisions taken during the crisis, in particular, the decision to maintain an unchanged dividend when Tiffany's profits were significantly down and visibility on the future was particularly low. We had little visibility on the future, but these disputes were resolved. And Tiffany is one of the most iconic jewelry brands in an industry where there are very few brands with such global prestige. And in this respect, we are very pleased with this acquisition. The second -- third question is about the closing of shops. Can you give us an update on the situation? Because of the COVID crisis, has this had an effect on the group strategy? Might this challenge your expansion policy for your network of shops? Well, indeed, we had to close down a number of shops at the height of the pandemic. And some of them are still closed, in particular, in Europe. There are 2 encouraging observations. Number one, the outstanding performance of our brands on e-commerce. This seems to indicate that we were prepared for a stepping up of our e-commerce and digital sales. And we were able to take advantage of that. And secondly, in spite of the significant growth of e-commerce, it should be noted that our sales in shops bounced back in H2 even though the context was still very challenging. And so our network of shops remains a major differentiation factor. And this is not either/or, it is a combination of these 2 sales channels that meet customers' expectations and which we will continue to develop in the future. There was also a question about our expectations for travel retail. Well, in the short run, as international travel will remain limited, at least in 2021, most destinations -- tourist destinations are simply not accessible right now. And so we brought down costs so as to minimize the impact on short-term profits. But as in any crisis, there are challenges but also opportunities. The Asian market is developing rapidly. And new opportunities are arising, in particular, on the island of Hainan in China where DFS has partnered with a local partner, Shenzhen Duty Free, and has just opened its first store. We have received another question from PETA, P-E-T-A, asking us whether we will give up on the use of an exotic animal hide. Well, our position hasn't changed since the last question of PETA on this issue, which was raised at the previous 2020 AGM at LVMH. We are satisfied that natural raw materials are a valuable material, and they are at the core of our exceptional and sustainable products. Our decision is to leave a freedom of choice, both for our customers and our houses. And so our houses may freely select the materials that they use in their own production processes according to their needs, but they should do so while strictly abiding by our charter on responsible supply for animal raw materials, which define long-term commitments in 3 areas: traceability of supply, animal welfare and the respect of local population's environment and biodiversity. As early as 2019, our charter had set a 100% traceability objective by 2025 for the raw materials. This 100% objective for traceability has now been strengthened with LIFE 360, that's our new environmental program, as we are extending this to all our supply chains -- our strategic supply chains for the year 2026. And meanwhile, we are looking at all alternative solutions, in particular, looking at what is known as vegetal leathers. And we are working with Desserto, which is a start-up company, which won the LVMH Innovation Award in 2020 for its leather made using the cactus plant. A final question about Samaritaine and when will it reopen and what will we be able to find there. Well, if the public health situation makes it possible, the reopening of the iconic building of La Samaritaine in Paris will happen gradually over the summer. There will be a department store with a wide offer of luxury goods in fashion, beauty, watches and jewelry. We have a luxury hotel of the Cheval Blanc chain, a high-level restaurant and other places for catering, offices, social housing and a daycare center. Thank you for your attention. I give the floor to Bernard Kuhn.

Thank you, Tony. I inform you that for the ordinary and extraordinary parts of the AGM, the quorum has been reached with 83.7% of shares with the voting right. We will begin by giving you the results of the ordinary meeting -- ordinary resolutions. The first concerns the approval of the parent company financial statements. Resolution is approved by over 99% of the vote. Second resolution concerns the approval of the consolidated financial statement is adopted by over 99% of the votes. Third resolution, allocation of net profit, determination of dividend, adopted also by over 99% of the vote. Fourth resolution, approval of related party agreements, is also adopted by over 83.2% of the vote. Fifth resolution concerns the renewal of Antoine Arnault's term of office. It's adopted by 92.7% of the vote. Sixth resolution concerns the renewal of Nicolas Bazire's term of office as director. It's adopted by 80.4% of the vote. Seventh resolution, renewal of Charles de Croisset's term of office as director, adopted by 86.2% of the vote. Eighth resolution, renewal of Yves-Thibault de Silguy's term of office as director, adopted by 93.6% of the vote. Ninth resolution, appointment of Olivier Lenel as alternate statutory auditor, replacing Mr. Philippe Castagnac, adopted by 99% of the vote. 10th resolution concerns the approval of modifications made in 2020 to the compensation policy of directors, adopted by over 99% of the vote. 11th resolution, approval of modifications made in 2020 to the compensation policy applicable to senior executive officers, adopted by 82.3% of the vote. 12th resolution, approval of the information referred to in Section I of Article L.22-10-9 of the French Commercial Code, adopted by 85.4% of the vote. 13th resolution, approval of the items of compensation paid during fiscal year 2020 awarded in respect of that year to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bernard Arnault, adopted by 83.3% of the vote. 14th resolution, approval of the items of compensation paid during fiscal year 2020 and awarded in respect of that year, but for the Group Managing Director, Mr. Belloni. And the resolution is adopted by 83.5% of the vote. 15th resolution, approval of the compensation policy applicable to directors, adopted by 98.7% of the vote. 16th resolution, approval of the compensation policy in respect to the Chairman and CEO, adopted by 78.1% of the vote. 17th resolution, approval of the compensation policy in respect of the Group Managing Director. This resolution is adopted by 78.6% of the vote. 18th resolution, authorization and powers to be granted to the Board of Directors to trade in the company's shares, resolution adopted by 99% of the vote. Let's now turn to the extraordinary resolutions. 19, authorization to be granted to the Board to reduce the share capital by retiring shares acquired on the stock market. Resolution is adopted by 99.9% of the vote. Resolution 20, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board to increase the share capital through capitalization of profit reserves, adopted by 99.2% of the vote. 21 resolution, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board of Directors to issue ordinary shares giving access to the share capital and/or securities that confer rights to the allocation of debt securities with the maintenance of preferential subscription rights. The resolution is adopted by 98.4% of the vote. Resolution #22, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board of Directors to issue ordinary shares and/or securities giving access to the share capital and/or securities that confer rights to the allocation of debt securities with the removal of preferential subscription rights and the option to grant priority rights. Said resolution is adopted by 81.7% of the vote. Resolution 23, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board of Directors to issue ordinary shares and/or securities with the removal of preferential subscription rights in the context of an offer. It's adopted by 80.6% of the vote. Resolution 24, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board to raise the number of securities to be issued in connection with share issues, either with or without preferential subscription rights, up to a limit of 15% of the initial issue. And this resolution is adopted by 80.8% of the vote. Resolution 25 concerns the delegation of authority to be granted to the Board of Directors to issue shares and/or equity securities giving access to other equity securities or that confer rights to the allocation of debt securities in consideration for securities tendered by public exchange offer initiated by the company, passed by 81.1% of the vote. Resolution 26, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board to issue, up to a maximum of 10% of the share capital, ordinary shares and/or equity securities giving access to other equity securities of the company or that confer rights to the allocation of debt securities in consideration for the contributions in kind to the company of equity securities and other securities giving access to the share capital. This resolution is adopted by 94.4% of the vote. Resolution 27, authorization to be granted to the Board to award share subscription options without preferential subscription rights for shareholders or share purchase options to employees and/or senior executive officers of the company and related entities up to maximum 1% of the capital. This resolution is passed by 83.4% of the vote. Resolution 28, delegation of authority to be granted to the Board to issue shares and/or securities giving access to the company's share capital without preferential subscription rights for shareholders, reserved for members of the group's company savings plans up to a maximum of 1% of the share capital. Said resolution is passed by 98.8% of the vote. Resolution 29, determination of the overall limit for capital increases to be carried out immediately or in the future pursuant to delegations of authorities, passed by 97% of the vote. Final resolution, 30, modification of Article 22 of the bylaws concerning the statutory auditors, and it's passed by 99.7% of the vote. Thank you.

Thank you for reading the results of the vote. I regret that once again this year, we had to hold the shareholders' meeting behind closed doors in these unusual conditions due, unfortunately, to the health crisis. I hope to see you next year in different conditions more consistent with practice. Next year's AGM is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 21st of April. I now close the meeting, and thank you for your attention.