LVMH Might Buy Rodarte

Late August means acquisition time in luxury conglomerate land, so we’re not surprised to hear that LVMH has been chatting up Rodarte, as WWD reported this morning.

The article stressed that no deal has been made, but that LVMH is still very interested in the Los Angeles-based fashion label, which has yet to turn a profit.

While LVMH has stayed away from fashion acquisitions over the last couple of years–the company has been more interested in buying yachts and such–it did scoop up 49% of ethical clothing brand Edun in late 2009.

WWD suggests that the purchase of Edun shares was simply a symbolic one driven by founder Bono’s fame. However, we hear otherwise. The conglomerate wants to compete with PPR and make Edun the “Stella McCartney of LVMH.”

The most recent move was to bring on lauded designer Sharon Wauchob as creative director–her first collection will debut at New York Fashion Week this September.

So this latest news isn’t so surprising. There’s definitely room to grow Rodarte–the company brought in a measly $2 million in sales last year. But if acquired, we’re betting LVMH would attempt to find a place for the sisters at an established Parisian fashion house where they could make the behemoth some real money.