Within 72 hours of making the announcement, LVMH had product en route to French hospitals. Not only did the French fragrance maker respond quickly and convert facilities, but they gave away the sanitizer to hospitals. There has been so little media about this and LVMH has delivered so quickly that I was wondering if it was even real. But it's real.
Under the hashtag, #LVMHjoinsforces, the company noted that it clearly had the means and it had the ingredients - water, ethanol and glycerine. And it had the bottling equipment. The sanitizer has gone out in Christian Dior bottles. LVMH said across social media:"GIVEN THE RISK OF A SHORTAGE OF HYDROALCOHOLIC GEL IN FRANCE, BERNARD ARNAULT INSTRUCTED THE LVMH PERFUMES & COSMETICS BUSINESS TO MANUFACTURE WITHIN THEIR PRODUCTION SITES AS MUCH GEL AS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES. SINCE MONDAY, THE GEL HAS BEEN DELIVERED DAILY FREE OF CHARGE TO THE FRENCH HEALTH AUTHORITIES AND AS A PRIORITY TO THE ASSISTANCE PUBLIQUE-HÔPITAUX DE PARIS.
THE LVMH GROUP WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE, IN PARTICULAR TO OUR EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCTION TEAMS FROM GUERLAIN, DIOR PARFUMS AND GIVENCHY BEAUTY WHO HAVE SHOWN GREAT SOLIDARITY AND ENGAGEMENT IN A SPIRIT OF COLLECTIVE EFFORT FOR THE COMMON GOOD."
LVMH has stated that they intend to help address the risk of a lack of product in France and enable a greater number of people to continue to take the right action to protect themselves from the spread of the virus. They have also committed to honouring this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection with the French health authorities.
LVMH also pledged 2 days ago that they would also supply several million surgical masks in France. The company announced that by virtue of its global distribution network, LVMH has managed to secure an order with a Chinese industrial supplier for a delivery of 10 million masks in France in the coming days (seven million surgical masks and three million FFP2 masks). The order will be repeated for at least four weeks in similar quantities (ie approximately 40 million masks).C'était super! Vive la France!