LVMH sees timing as key in high-stakes foray into multi-brand luxury e-commerce

Paris

IAN Rogers, chief digital officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, sat in his sunlit office on Avenue Montaigne last month, alongside a large cactus with a mélange of Pucci-pattern skateboards and black and white rock band photographs arrayed on the walls behind him. Using a tattooed finger, he punched in a pass code that would unlock access to "Babylon": the code name for the top secret project he has been working on since his arrival 18 months ago at the world's largest luxury group.

"We believe we are on the cusp of revealing something very exciting," Mr Rogers, 44, said in hushed tones.

The "we" was the project's 60 employees, many of whom have been hired from the Paris technology sector and who are hidden far from the corporate headquarters in new offices in the 15th Arrondissement. Mr Rogers added: "I guess it's time to see if the customers think so, too." He was refe…