LVMH, the parent company of luxury brand Louis Vuitton, is reportedly struggling with operations at its Keene, Texas, facility.
Sources who spoke with Reuters said the Louis Vuitton Rochambeau Ranch, named after the French general who fought in the Revolutionary War, has struggled to secure skilled workers, leading to high rates of defective bags. The leather workshop was opened in 2019 after LVHM CEO Bernard Arnault moved some of the iconic brand’s production/ to the United States under President Trump’s first administration.
The Texas operation has reportedly ranked among the bottom-performing Louis Vuitton facilities globally, illustrating the potential challenges of building out effective production stateside. In response to the claims leveled by former workers, the company’s industrial director, Ludovic Pauchard, told Reuters the transition has been more challenging than initially expected.
“The ramp-up was harder than we thought it would be, that’s true,” said Pauchard.
Three former employees said a lack of skilled leather workers has meant the facility has struggled to produce the level of quality deemed acceptable for the luxury brand.
“It took them years to start making the simple pockets of the Neverfull handbag,” said one source, per Reuters.
The timing of the news comes just over two months after Arnault said his company was considering expanding production capacity in the United States in light of potentially higher incoming corporate taxes in France, where LVMH is headquartered.
One former employee said the Texas facility wastes as much as 40% of the leather hides used in production. For comparison, typical waste rates in the industry are around half that.
Notably, the challenges have reportedly prompted the facility to turn out lower-quality goods, with supervisors ignoring methods some workers use to hide defects. While Pauchard acknowledges this was a problem in the past, he claims it has since been resolved.
“Any bag that goes out of it must be a Louis Vuitton bag, we make sure it meets exactly the same quality. … I am not aware of any kinds of issues suggesting the quality coming from Texas is any different from that coming from Europe,” said Pauchard.
While LVMH did not confirm to Reuters which handbags are partially or fully produced in Texas, former workers said models like the Carryall, Keepall, Felice, Metis, and Neverfull are among those made at the Rochambeau Ranch. These bags typically retail for between $1,500 and $3,000.
Damien Verbrigghe, Louis Vuitton’s international manufacturing director, said some employees have ultimately vacated their roles because they cannot meet the company’s strict quality demands.
“There are artisans that we hire, who we train and who, after several weeks, or months, realize in light of the expectations, the level of detail that is required, they would rather work in other fields like logistics,” said Verbrigghe.
“Some people chose to leave us, because it’s true that it’s a job that requires a lot of savoir faire.”
During the 2019 ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Texas facility, Arnault said the ranch would ultimately produce around 1,000 high-skilled jobs over the following five years. However, three former workers say the facility’s headcount was less than 300 as of February 2025.