The family business is more of a long-term strategy. We want to keep growing gradually.'' LVMH's leading shareholder and chief executive, Bernard Arnault, said in a recent Italian newspaper interview that the ''the family-run company is no longer sufficient'' to meet the demands of today's global fashion industry. He and others in the industry argue that fashion houses need size. Small is no longer beautiful, they say. You have to control everything from the design to selling to clients . . .
Fashion is about egos.
The choice to sell was a forward-looking decision,'' he said. Giammetti said Valentino received several buyout offers from companies from France to Hong Kong. But, likening the Valentino label to a ''jewel'' that simply could not fall into foreign hands, he said they wanted to remain Italian-owned. But working for a public company does have an impact. Budget decisions, board decisions, sometimes all of this weighs on flexiblity,'' he said.