How to Do Succession the Right Way
Bernard Arnault is taking steps to ensure his family remains harmonious and (firmly) in control of his LVMH empire.
Jacob Sapirstein, the son of a rabbi from Wasosz, Poland, immigrated to America in 1905 and, after passing through Chicago, ended up in Cleveland. He got a job with relatives dealing postcards in the lobby of a downtown hotel, then, with a $50 bank loan, he struck out on his own, importing and selling elegant, German-made postcards to candy and novelty shops and drugstores from a horse-drawn carriage.
Even during the turmoil of the early 20th century, the Sapirstein Greeting Card Co. thrived. Jacob upgraded his traveling office to a Ford and pioneered the use of self-serve wall cabinets and floor displays. He brought his three sons into the company, and they eventually changed the firm’s name to American Greetings and the family’s last name to Stone. In its heyday, American Greetings was among the 500 largest companies in the US and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.