Jay-Z, LVMH become business partners with new acquisition

Jay originally got into the Champagne business back in 2006 when he called for a boycott of the brand Cristal

Jay-Z has a new partner.

The rapper turned businessman recently penned a deal with luxury goods owner LVMH. The company acquired half of Jay’s Armand de Brignac brand, also known as Ace of Spades.

“We were always looking to grow this brand,” Jay-Z said to the New York Times. The Brooklyn native declined to speak on the exact numbers surrounding the deal. “And this happened very naturally.”

LVMH is the world’s biggest luxury brand. Founded in 1987, the $113B company includes Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, Dom Perignon, Givenchy, Sephora, Tiffany, Dior, and now Ace of Spades.

“In your understanding of the world of tomorrow, we believe you created a new consumer for Champagne,” said Philippe Schaus, the chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton via a Zoom call with Jay-Z on the deal.

“We have to catch up somehow…so this relationship will inject us with some better understanding of the market of tomorrow,” said Schaus.

Jay originally got into the Champagne business back in 2006 when he called for a boycott of the brand Cristal after to top executive at it’s parent company said he wasn’t particularly interested in maintaining a hip-hop audience.

Jay-Z Performs At Carnegie Hall To Benefit The United Way Of New York City And The Shawn Carter Foundation - After Party — Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images

“We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

At the time Jay-Z said, ‘It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frédéric Rouzaud, views the “hip-hop” culture as “unwelcome attention”’, Jay-Z said. ‘I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands, including the 40/40 Club, nor in my personal life.’

He then purchased Armand de Brignac and created Ace of Spades with a bottle price ranging from $300 to $64,999K.

Prior to the deal, the company was comprised of an all-white leadership team but now Jay has infiltrated the European boys club.

“Just the idea of this partnership is a signal to a more diverse way of looking at things,” said Jay-Z.

But Schaus acknowledged the company’s shortcomings when it comes to diversity during the Zoom call and said, “We have a long way to go.”

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