If bags and leather goods are no longer in vogue, it is better to take off, it must be said, and invest in other sectors. So the billionaire Pinault, owner of iconic brands such as Gucci e Balenciaga, has decided to increase its investments in a sector far outside the fashion catwalks: the cruises.
Ten years after the Pinault family's private investment firm, Groupe Artemis, has acquired ownership of the French cruise company Ponant , which has 13 vessels known for Arctic and Antarctic navigation, has purchased a stake in majority in Aqua Expeditions, a luxury line known for exploring Indonesia's Raja Ampat archipelago and the Peruvian Amazon in style. The acquisition is modest in terms of assets: the Singapore-based company has just five ships, all with a maximum capacity of 40 passengers. But the move represents a significant step towardincrease in the Pinault family's share in the luxury cruise industry. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but the announcement was made in recent weeks, Bloomberg reports. Aqua Expeditions’ Peruvian founder Francesco Galli Zugaro will remain a shareholder and continue to manage the brand.
LVMH also focuses on travel experiences and luxury resorts
After all, in the world of luxury, tormented in recent years above all by the drop in Chinese demand, but also by the change of consumer philosophy More generally, Pinault's colleagues have also made moves that are different from fashion: Bernard Arnault and LVMH they are doubling the luxury resort and travel experiences. Worth remembering is their investment in the brand Orient Express which includes what should be the largest sailing ship in the world, which is scheduled to debut in 2026. On the other hand, the hotel brands they are luxury investing in cruises on small yacht-inspired vessels, with Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Aman all building their own versions of “floating hotels".
Pinault Wants to Double Ponant's Revenue by 2028
With the acquisition of Aqua, Artemis is committed to further growth in cruise industry. This second Hervé Gastinel, a businessman and sailor who joined Ponant as CEO in 2021. He was hired by Pinault and his son François-Henri, who co-manages Artémis, to bring the cruise line back into the black after the industry shut down due to Covid. Gastinel says thePinault's goal è Double Ponant's revenues by 2028, although it did not disclose specific figures.
“After Covid there was obviously a reshuffle of the landscape of this sector,” Gastinel told Bloomberg. “Many cruise companies are open to cooperation, acquisitions, investments.” Although small-ship cruises to remote locations are a niche market, the Pinaults want to be recognized in that arena as Kering is in fashion. “We can build leadership in that segment,” Gastinel says. According to fourth-quarter 2024 data, the Gucci brand Kering saw sales drop 24%.
Gastinel was previously CEO of Beneteau Group, leading company in the pleasure boat sector, leading it to a growth in turnover, and now in Ponant it is aiming to new acquisitions: He thought about buying Hurtigruten Expeditions, he says, but that company’s five ships, which max out at about 500 passengers, seemed too big. The ideal ships, Gastinel says, max out at 300 guests, and he adds that Aqua and Ponant are natural siblings. “We can build interesting bridges between the two companies,” he says, adding that tropical and polar destinations are nice combinations.
