Fashion
Moët Hennessy in legal dispute with former CFO over NDA breach
By
Bloomberg
Published
October 1, 2025
Moët Hennessy and its former finance chief are embroiled in a legal dispute after the drinks company accused him of violating a non-disclosure agreement by allegedly leaking internal information related to a sexual-harassment case.
Mark Stead signed the NDA in July 2024 as part of a settlement agreement following his dismissal for alleged expense abuses, including a stay at a luxury hotel in New York. The settlement included severance benefits and required Stead to adhere to strict confidentiality and non-disparagement terms.
The company has since alleged that Stead provided confidential details to news outlet La Lettre in relation to its handling of a complaint filed by Maria Gasparovic, a former colleague and senior manager. During a hearing in Paris on Friday, Moët Hennessy’s legal representative claimed that the September 2024 article published by La Lettre contained information that could only have come from Stead.
Stead’s attorney, Eric Charlery, denied the allegations and described the dismissal as “a ploy,” arguing that the legal proceedings were intended to punish Stead for supporting Gasparovic. Charlery has asked the court to annul the NDA, which he claims prevents his client from speaking out about the harassment allegations affecting his partner. Stead is also pursuing claims for unfair dismissal and damages, with a total compensation request that may exceed €4 million ($4.7 million).
Charlery stated that Moët Hennessy escalated the situation by publicly accusing both Stead and Gasparovic in La Lettre of attempting to blackmail the company into a larger financial settlement. He argued that the accusation damaged Stead’s reputation and constituted a breach of the settlement’s non-disparagement clause.
“Mark Stead is now a pariah,” Charlery told the tribunal. “When a company run by Bernard Arnault accuses you of blackmail, word gets around.”
Moët Hennessy initially filed a lawsuit seeking €135,000 from Stead for breaching the settlement. The company has also filed a defamation complaint against Gasparovic.
The case comes amid a series of legal disputes at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, the parent company of Moët Hennessy. The group has undergone a management reshuffle and staff reductions. In a separate case, a former digital sales executive recently sought €1.7 million in damages, alleging that he was dismissed for reporting sales to Russia that evaded sanctions. Gasparovic is also pursuing her own legal action against the company, which has, in turn, filed a defamation countersuit.
Charlery said that Stead had agreed to the NDA “to have peace,” but noted that the conflict has continued and Stead is now facing difficulties finding a comparable senior finance role.
LVMH did not respond to a request for comment. Charlery declined to comment further outside the courtroom. A ruling in Stead’s case is expected on Nov. 19.
By
Reuters
Published
November 18, 2025
China’s PDD Holdings beat forecasts on Tuesday with a 14% rise in third-quarter adjusted earnings, a sign that the e-commerce group’s steep discounts and heavy marketing spending bolstered demand in its home market.
Adjusted earnings per share of 21.08 yuan ($2.97) topped analysts’ average forecast of 16.84 yuan. However, U.S.-listed shares of the company, which runs the Pinduoduo platform in China and Temu internationally, were down about 5% in early trading.
Chinese retail majors such as PDD, Alibaba and JD.com have been wooing domestic shoppers with price cuts and billions of dollars’ worth of subsidised promotions during a prolonged period of subdued consumer confidence amid job worries and a weak property market.
Those discounts have translated into higher sales, although below PDD’s typically high double-digit rates of previous years.
PDD said revenue rose 9% in the quarter, while JD.com reported steady sales growth last week, pointing to strong demand for general merchandise and staples.
“We have seen many industry peers deploy significant capital to develop new business models, leading to increasingly fierce competition,” said PDD’s co-CEO Zhao Jiazhen on a post-earnings call with analysts.
He reiterated the firm expects financial results to continue fluctuating in the coming quarters as it invests in merchant support programmes and platform upgrades.
Globally, Temu and other cross-border platforms like Shein selling cheap goods from China to the rest of the world have come under pressure after the U.S. scrapped duty-free exemption on parcels worth less than $800 and the EU looks to introduce duties on low-cost packages from next year.
Temu was also among platforms cited by a French consumer watchdog last week for selling illicit products.
“Today, with a rapid evolution of trade barriers, we are seeing a significant shift in the regulatory environment for the global business. We will inevitably face greater challenges and uncertainties,” said co-CEO Chen Lei.
PDD reported revenue of 108.28 billion yuan for the quarter ended September 30, compared with the 108.41 billion yuan average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Adjusted net income attributable to PDD’s shareholders was 31.38 billion yuan, compared with 27.46 billion yuan a year earlier.
The Singles’ Day sales festival, one of the biggest shopping events in China, also ended on a subdued note. Many retailers kicked off discounts in the first half of October, making it the longest festival to date.
Pinduoduo saw sales growth of 11.7% in the period, while JD.com’s and Alibaba’s platforms saw increases of 8.3% and 9.3%, respectively, according to data from Beijing-based tech and commerce consulting firm Analysys.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
However, during negotiations with the United States, the European Union and several other developed economies, these very QCOs were repeatedly flagged as opaque non-tariff barriers, complicating market access and slowing progress on key FTAs. When major trade partners made it clear that India’s expanding QCO regime was not aligned with global norms and posed compliance concerns under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade framework, the long-pending course correction finally gained urgency, as industry insiders hinted about sudden policy shift of the Indian government.
The recent withdrawal of QCOs for essential textile raw materials—covering PTA, MEG, PSF, PFY, FDY, POY and several technical polymers—has opened the door for full value addition in India’s MMF and textile ecosystem. Manufacturers across weaving, knitting, processing, technical textiles and garmenting say the rollback has restored access to globally benchmarked inputs at competitive prices, reversing the cost escalation that had eroded export competitiveness. Industry representatives note that the move has already begun easing supply bottlenecks, narrowing the gap between domestic and global prices and encouraging companies to revive deferred expansion plans.
Published
November 18, 2025
GS1, the international standards organisation underpinning barcode and QR Code technology, has announced the appointment of Laura Barnac as executive chair of its French division.
A specialist in business transformation, Laura Barnac has led projects for groups such as Unilever and LVMH, as well as for mid-cap companies including Daregal. Co-founder of the start-ups Voka and Melco, focused on innovation and marketing, she has also served as an adviser to Bpifrance and Sakina M’Sa, and oversaw Moët Hennessy’s online operations.
A member of the GS1 France Board of Directors since 2019, Laura Barnac now succeeds Didier Veloso, the organisation’s executive chair for the past four years, beginning a tenure that will be marked by the progressive migration from barcodes to augmented QR Codes.
“Laura Barnac has impeccable credentials and a nuanced understanding of the challenges ahead,” say Bertrand de Senneville and Philippe Lemoine, co-chairs of the Supervisory Board of GS1 France. “She has also demonstrated throughout her career a leadership style grounded in listening and the human element, which will help accelerate and amplify the transformation under way.”
Launched in 1973 in the US with the invention of the barcode, and rolled out in Europe in 1977, GS1’s mission is to ensure technological coordination among all players in commerce with regard to product identification tools. The not-for-profit organisation brings together more than 58,000 member companies in France, and over 2 million worldwide.
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