French luxury goods giant LVMH has shifted its Asia-Pacific media and planning account from WPP Media to Publicis without a pitch.
The appointment is effective from January 2027 and covers every market in the region save Japan, which remains with Dentsu. The win was revealed in Campaign Asia which cited multiple anonymous sources close to the matter.
According to Campaign Asia, the account had historically been valued at between US$450 million to $500 million in annual billings. B&T understands that the account was much lower in value in Australia, despite the Eastern Suburbs’ penchant for a Louis bag.
WPP Media had held the account for nine years after it won the account and created L’Atelier, a dedicated agency built around the client.
Mark Patterson, global president of markets and business operations at WPP Media, said: “It has been a privilege to serve as LVMH’s growth partner across Asia Pacific over the past nine years—a period of remarkable transformation during which LVMH’s revenue in the region more than doubled.
“We’re grateful to LVMH for the trust they put in us and wish the Group and its maisons continued success. We’re proud of the work our teams delivered for LVMH throughout our partnership and will move forward from a position of strength—as a leader in the luxury sector and Asia Pacific—with exceptional talent, industry-leading technology, and a proven ability to drive growth.”
LVMH’s roster include some of the largest and most recognisable luxury brands around such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot as well as beauty retailer Sephora.
Sources told Campaign that LVMH wants to move away from the “tightly controlled whitelist system” on the current account towards a less labour-intensive, AI- and data-driven model.
This change, it said, would allow the agency to service the client with a smaller team — Campaign quoted that L’Atelier employed some 200 people in China alone.
Publicis and WPP Media declined to comment when reached by B&T.
