Bernard Arnault buys East Hampton retail property for $22M

The world’s richest man didn’t have to dig too far into his very deep pockets for a retail store in the Hamptons.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault paid $22 million for the property at 1 Main Street in East Hampton, Behind the Hedges reported. The deal is the biggest commercial transaction in the East End so far this year.

The seller was designer Elie Tahari and his son, who have owned the two-story, 5,000-square-foot building at the corner of Main Street and Newtown Lane since 2006, when he purchased it for $7.5 million. He opened a store a year after the purchase, but it closed after about a decade.

The property dates back more than a century, but was renovated just last year to accommodate a Cartier pop-up, which occupied the building during the summer to allow for natural light and an open layout.

It’s not clear if the pop-up will return for the summer season this year, but it’s reasonable to think Arnault will consider installing one of his conglomerate’s many brands at the site, which include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Sephora and Tiffany & Co.

A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Jordan Sutton and Robert Shapiro represented the sellers, who have said they are interested in multifamily opportunities in the area through Tahari Capital.

Arnault, estimated to be worth approximately $226 billion, has been shuffling some of his brand’s holdings in Manhattan. Last month, the company was reportedly eyeing an office lease at 550 Madison Avenue while moving its Louis Vuitton store to the Trump Organization’s 6 East 57th Street. That space is operated by Tiffany, which is set to move to the redeveloped 727 Fifth Avenue.

Arnault’s son, Alexandre, recently paid $18 million for a penthouse at 30 Park Place in the city. The 30-year-old has been an executive of Tiffany since 2021, when LVMH acquired the luxury jewelry house for $15.8 billion.

— Holden Walter-Warner