Like Hermès and Chanel, Goyard is privately owned: Jean-Michel Signoles acquired the company in 1998, and brought it back from ruin with an exclusivity-based business model. In 2009, he told the New York Times he “coveted this company for 20 years,” and spent years persuading them to sell. Signoles rarely does interviews, nor does he court press — neither does the brand, which spends very little, if anything, on advertising. (Its social media presence is relatively contained: It has just over a million followers on Instagram, whereas Hermès and Chanel boast 15 million and 60 million, respectively.) And because it’s not part of a luxury conglomerate, like Gucci or Louis Vuitton, it doesn’t have to publish its financials or justify creative decisions to a board or CEO juggling numerous other companies.
