No outside research should be used.  No bibliography is required:  the articles listed below are the bibliography.  No information should be copied from written sources.  The paper must be written in your own words.

Write an essay in which you respond to ALL of the following questions.  Refer to the following articles I have attached.

Matthew Dalton. 2019. Louis Vuitton makes a home on the range. WSJ. Oct. 18.

Dumett, B., Kapner, S., Dalton, M. 2019. LVMH bets $16 billion to make Tiffany shine. WSJ. Nov. 20

1, Apply Porter’s diamond model (factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and firm strategy, structure, and rivalry) to explain Italy and France’s global dominance in luxury goods(all factors should be mentioned and analyzed). Do acquisitions of small French and Italian luxury companies by LVMH strengthen or weaken the luxury clusters in Italy and France?  Explain your position.

2. Last year, LVMH acquired NY based jewelry company Tiffany and expanded production of Louis Vuitton bags to Texas. What was the rationale behind these investments in the US? Do these strategic decisions by LVMH weaken the French luxury cluster?  Do they enhance US national competitiveness in luxury goods?  Defend your answers.