Fortune - 04.2020

(Wang) #1
to expand the hotel busi-
ness in the next two years
are ambitious: an estate
in Normandy; a 10-room
inn in Siena, Italy; and an
island getaway in Greece.
Still, these hotel projects
haven’t kept Biousse out of
retail altogether. In 2016,
LVMH chairman Bernard
Arnault approached him
to run an affordable luxury
firm within the group’s
portfolio. He declined, but
he saw the need to give
support to rising stars on
his own terms—the kind
of support a big group
wouldn’t be able to offer.
With Experienced Capital,

his four-year-old accelera-
tor, he and his team help
scale emerging French
brands with solid convic-
tions. This includes Bali-
baris, a fast-growing mens-
wear label; NV Gallery
(which Biousse calls the
“Sandro of home design”);
Jimmy Fairly sunglasses;
and skin-care line Oh My
Cream, among others.
“The raison d’être in
everything I do now is
pleasure,” says Biousse.
“And if I can use my suc-
cess to build brands and
experiences with meaning,
then I’ve done something
right.”

and Foucher have applied
that vision to Les Bords de
Mer, a 19-room boutique
hotel in an iconic Art Deco
villa perched directly on
the beach in Marseille,
France; to a refurbished
surf lodge called Les Hor-
tensias du Lac in Hossegor;
and to Torre Vella and
Santa Ponsa on Minorca,
two historic fincas con-
verted into agritourism
escapes with a combined
740 acres of working
farmland on which the
men produce olive oil,
aromatics, and organic
vegetables to supply their
locavore restaurants. Plans

LES BORDS
DE MER

An Art Deco
villa turned boutique
property perched
on the Marseille
waterfront. Each of
its 19 rooms has a
stunning view of the
Mediterranean.

PASSIONS — TR AVEL

FROM

LEFT: COURTESY OF YANN DERET; COURTESY OF W

EARECONTENT

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