OVHcloud teams up with Crayon to develop European data infrastructure
-France's OVHcloud, Europe's largest data centre provider, has partnered with Norway's cloud software provider Crayon to develop a sovereign European data infrastructure, with both hardware and software components originating from European companies.
The collaboration will enable customers of both companies to access and integrate solutions across more than 45 regions, the companies said in a joint statement.
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CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
‘Quality is key': Dior's CEO Delphine Arnault on opening a new chapter at the maison
Dior chief executive Delphine Arnault has said she is opening 'a new chapter' at LVMH's second-biggest brand, emphasising that 'quality is key' as new creative director Jonathan Anderson makes his runway debut amid a luxury downturn. The appointment of the Northern Ireland-born designer in May 2025 made him the first designer since the brand's founder, Christian Dior, to oversee both the men's and women's collections. He is assuming creative control of a brand with an estimated €9.5 billion (US$11.14 billion; S$14.21 billion) in revenues at a time of deteriorating luxury demand, especially in Asia. The choice of Anderson, 40, is the biggest bet by Arnault — eldest child and only daughter of LVMH chair and chief executive Bernard Arnault — since she took the helm in 2023 from former star executive Pietro Beccari, who moved to Louis Vuitton. Anderson, who grew up in the small town of Magherafelt during the Troubles, kicked off Dior's new era with a menswear show last Friday (Jun 27). 'Dior is a fascinating brand,' Arnault told the Financial Times from her office in Paris. 'I worked at Dior from 2001 until 2013, so it's the brand that I know. The growth was spectacular but I think my role as the CEO is to know when it's time to change. And now it's a new chapter.' 'I'm interested to see what is going to come up . . . in a way that's very elevated, very qualitative,' said Arnault of her hopes for Anderson's new designs. 'The next five years is going to be all about quality in the materials and the manufacturing. Quality is key.' Before the current downturn Dior had been one of the luxury industry's star performers. Revenues quadrupled to €9.5 billion between 2017 and 2023, according to estimates from HSBC, helped by extensive price rises. But Arnault's tenure has thus far coincided with a sharp slowdown in the luxury market, especially in China, and consumer pushback against price inflation. Already fragile consumer confidence could be damaged further by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Meanwhile, a scandal involving labour practices at subcontractors in Italy — Dior agreed to settle a probe last month 'without establishing any infringement' — has tarnished the brand's image. 'The focus [for Arnault] is on reinvigorating sales growth in the aftermath of a period of booming sales,' said Zuzanna Pusz, European luxury goods analyst at UBS. 'But also focusing on re-establishing the value for money relationship in the eyes of the consumer, especially for leather goods.' In April, LVMH's chief financial officer Cecile Cabanis told analysts that Dior's first quarter organic sales growth was 'slightly below' the 5 per cent drop seen across its fashion and leather goods division. The appointment of Anderson is part of Dior's attempt to find a new creative impetus after nine years under outgoing designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. Anderson, formerly creative director of Loewe, left the Spanish brand last year with a catalogue of hits to his name, including its hammock and puzzle bags, as well as a series of critically acclaimed runway collections. Loewe's revenues rose from about €230 million to between €1.5 billion and €2 billion over the course of Anderson's 11-year stint, according to Bernstein analyst Luca Solca's estimates. At Dior, however, Anderson is overseeing a far bigger creative operation — especially in his combined role. Arnault does not expect the brand's new creative head to have an immediate impact on sales. 'I'm really excited about what's next but I think it takes a couple of seasons to understand the vision of a designer,' said Arnault, adding that Anderson was a choice that reflected 'long-term thinking'. Anderson's appointment coincides with a series of executive changes at Dior, including the appointment of former Louis Vuitton executive Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou as deputy chief executive. Following the subcontractor scandal in Italy, Dior has created a new industrial division to produce more designs in-house, overseen by Giorgio Striano, who was hired from EssilorLuxottica. Nicolas Carre, another former Louis Vuitton executive, joined Dior as industrial director for leather goods, shoes and fashion jewellery. 'It's about finding the best talents and making them work together,' said Arnault, who worked with many of the team in her previous role at Vuitton, from 2013 to 2022. 'I think we need to have the best teams in terms of creatives . . . but also in terms of the management of the company.' Arnault did not respond to questions about the impact of tariffs on the business but she reaffirmed that the US market — one of luxury's largest by sales — remained critical. Dior plans to open a new Manhattan flagship store in July, and another store on LA's Rodeo Drive in October. But the turbulence in the US under President Donald Trump — whose inauguration was attended by Delphine, Alexandre and Bernard Arnault — has blunted hopes that US shoppers would lead a luxury industry recovery this year. Pusz at UBS said that while the current environment was difficult for luxury Anderson 'seems well suited' for the challenge, citing his record of innovation, delivering a 'powerful brand message', as well as recruiting and managing teams of talented designers. Anderson, who is also creative director and majority owner of an eponymous brand, JW Anderson, will now deliver up to 18 collections every year. But Arnault seemed unfazed by the additional pressures on him, or the risk that the Northern Irishman could suffer creative burnout. 'He's 40, I think he's the most talented designer of his generation,' she said. 'I think he can do a lot of amazing things.'
CNA
9 hours ago
- CNA
Canada U-turn leaves Europe in the lurch on US tech taxes
PARIS: Canada's dropping of a tax on US tech giants under the pressure of Donald Trump is fuelling concern about the future of such levies in other countries, particularly in Europe. "Currently, about half of all European OECD countries have either announced, proposed, or implemented" a digital services tax pending global action, said the Tax Foundation, a think tank which supports the introduction of such taxes. But the future of such measures is unclear after the Group of Seven nations agreed Saturday (Jun 28) to exempt US multinational companies from a global minimum tax imposed by other countries. The move sparked a pointed reaction from Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. "This is about more than trade - it's about whether democratically elected governments can regulate and tax powerful corporations or whether tech billionaires can dictate policy through political proxies," he said. WHO HAS IMPOSED SUCH A TAX? Austria, Brazil, Britain, France, India, Italy, Spain and Türkiye are a dozen large countries which have imposed or plan to impose special taxes on big tech firms. The objective is to force them to pay taxes where they carry out business, as well as to counter the tax optimisation strategies they often practice. Generally, the taxes target sales revenue and focus essentially on US firms like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook (Meta) and Microsoft. But they differ from one country to another in terms of sales that are taxed, with some targeting advertising revenue and others targeting sales of data. "Most of the proposed or adopted rates are in the 2-5 per cent range," of the revenue stream targeted, according to analysts at the Canadian Tax Foundation. Most nations adopted the taxes pending a global agreement which would see multinational companies pay some taxes in countries where they operate, but the prospects for such a deal now look bleak. WHAT THESE TAXES GENERATE The taxes tend to raise more money year after year, according to the latest data from the EU Tax Observatory, which dates from June 2023. Britain, France, India, Italy and Türkiye have seen steady increases in the revenue their taxes generate. Both Britain and France raised approximately US$1.1 billion last year via their digital services taxes. Italy saw its revenue from the tax jump by 90 per cent from 2021 to over $530 million last year, according to local media. But Spain, which hoped to raise more than a billion per year via its tax, only raised around US$350 million in 2023, according to La Vanguardia daily. OTHER DOMINOES TO FALL? Before Canada, India had already halted in April its six per cent tax on online advertising by foreign firms against the background of trade talks with the United States. The taxes may fall elsewhere. While Britain has reached a trade deal with the United States to avoid the worst tariffs, it wants to go further and has refused to rule out a modification or elimination of its digital services tax. EU nations so far haven't indicated that the tax is on the table. A German government spokesman said Monday that Canada's dropping its tech tax had "absolutely no bearing" on Berlin's position as it considers it considers its tax policies. But worries remain. National digital service taxes are "vulnerable to economic and political threats - particularly from the US, which has historically protected its digital multinationals from fair taxation abroad," said the Tax Justice Network, a coalition of researchers and activists.
CNA
15 hours ago
- CNA
China's top diplomat Wang Yi visits Europe to seek closer ties
China's top diplomat Wang Yi is on his way to Europe, as Beijing seeks closer ties with the region as a counterweight to Washington. He will visit the EU's headquarters in Brussels, as well as France and Germany. China and the EU have been grappling with deep frictions, including a more than US$350 billion trade deficit. Both parties have also been imposing tit-for-tat tariffs, with the EU seeking to get tougher on what it deems as China's unfair economic practices. Tan Si Hui reports.
