He succeeds the outgoing Herve Martin.

A graduate of Lyon's Ecole Superieure de Commerce, Huguenin, 47, has been chairman of Petit Bateau SA since 1993.

During his tenure there, the company saw a dramatic turnaround, opening stores in important locations and repositioning itself as a desirable label for fashionistas looking for tiny t-shirts and tank tops.

From 1984 to 1993, Huguenin moved steadily up the ranks in the ready-to-wear industry.

With the Devanlay group, he rose from first director of management control to head the firm's women's lingerie division, and became European CEO for ECCE in 1991.

At ECCE, he was instrumental in the development of the Kenzo Homme license.

Before taking up positions in the ready-to-wear industry, Huguenin spent five years working with family firm Huguenin SA and as an internal auditor for footwear group Chaussures Andre.

Herve Martin will soon assume a new role within LVMH. He joined the luxury goods conglomerate in 1994 as European President of Louis Vuitton Malletier and has headed Kenzo since May 1997.