By Casey Hall and Mimosa Spencer
SHANGHAI/PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has touched down in China, kicking off a flurry of interest on social media in a key market for his group's sprawling luxury empire.
The executive, who was expected to make a visit this month, walked through the WF Central mall in Beijing, China on Tuesday, photos circulating on social media showed. A Beijing resident told Reuters she saw him there at around midday.
The photos showed Arnault with his daughter, Dior CEO Delphine Arnault, and son Jean Arnault, who works for Louis Vuitton, as well as Dior's China president Monika Figlewicz.
Other Beijing residents, posting on social media site Xiaohongshu, reported seeing Arnault at luxury department store SKP.
LVMH, which owns labels ranging from Hennessy cognac to fashion houses Dior and Louis Vuitton, declined to comment.
Louis Vuitton is gearing up to hold future events in the Chinese market.
"The Chinese are very important clients," Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari told Reuters in an interview last week. He said it was too soon to say when the label's creative director for menswear Pharrell Williams, who recently held his debut fashion show for the label, could hold events in China.
China is also a key focus for the group's global retail overhaul for Tiffany.
China is a major driver of global luxury product growth now that COVID lockdowns have been lifted. While demand in China has had a patchy recovery, wealthier shoppers have helped the luxury sector outperform other consumer categories in China.