Last Sunday, LVMH announced that it would use three of its perfume and cosmetic factories to help France to tackle a nationwide shortage of hand sanitizers.
LVMH announced that three of its cosmetics factories would switch its function to produce large quantities of hand disinfectant gel amidst nationwide anti-viral products shortage across France due to the ongoing pandemic. The three factories, in particular, are the factories that produce perfumes and make-up of Christian Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy.
As reported by Forbes, the first batch is already in production since Monday with the aim of producing 12 tons of hand sanitizers for this week. LVMH will deliver the hand sanitizers for free to French health authorities, particularly to 39 public hospitals in Paris, and to the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris—the largest hospital system in Europe.
Paris hospitals chief Martine Hirsch told AFP that he wised to thank LVMH for “acting so quickly,” later explaining that the offer was made on Saturday night at 9 PM (20.00 GMT) and was later confirmed on Sunday. While hospitals in Paris have not yet run out of gel, supplies are “strained” said a spokeswoman for the Paris hospital system, who also added that other companies have also said they are ready to donate supplies.
“Through this initiative, LVMH intends to help address the risk of a lack of product in France and enable a greater number of people to continue to take the right action to protect themselves from the spread of the virus,” said the luxury goods company in a statement. “LVMH will continue to honour this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection with the French health authorities.”
Fears of catching the COVID-19 caused a hand gel shortage across France, with many pharmacies restricting clients to one small bottle per person. The government even issued a decree limiting prices after acknowledging that some retailers were trying to make extra profit from the current situation, pricing a 100-millilitre bottle at no more than 3 euros ($3.30).
LVMH is not the first brand to help the France government to fight the Corona pandemic. Back in February, electronics giant Foxconn switched some of its production from Apple iPhones to make surgical masks during the coronavirus outbreak.
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