The family behind French fashion house Hermès International is considering funnelling its shares into an unlisted holding company, said a key family member, as a way to defend Hermès from its big, new and unwanted shareholder, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

In an interview on Tuesday, Bertrand Puech, who heads one of the main branches of the Hermès family, also said that the clan had hired consultants at French bank BNP Paribas and corporate lawyers to help it explore options in the wake of the announcement last month by LVMH that it had racked up a 17.1% stake in Hermès.