Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, has lined up a power group for Thursday’s opening of the Louis Vuitton Rochambeau Ranch in Johnson County, Tex. None other than President Trump, as well as first daughter Ivanka Trump and Texas state officials. Arnault will also be joined at the event by other LVMH senior executives, including Louis Vuitton’s chairman and ceo Michael Burke.
Billed as the luxury house’s newest leather goods “workshop,” the facility is meant to reflect LVMH’s commitment to bring new jobs to the U.S., according to press material provided by the company Sunday. The plan is to create 1,000 jobs in the next five years at the facility near Keene, Tex. By doing so, Louis Vuitton is making good on its support of the Pledge to America’s Workers, the educational training program that was launched last year. Apple, FedEx and Boeing are among the companies that have signed up with the aim being to create six million training opportunities
Bolstering domestic production has been one of Trump’s rallying cries. While domestic fashion brands have spoken about the benefits of reshoring improved quality control and working conditions most continue to produce the bulk of their goods overseas where production costs are substantially cheaper. In the U.S., there are 1.8 million fashion-related jobs including 232,000 in manufacturing textiles for apparel and footwear.