PARIS — LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is preparing to rev up Loewe, the 160-year-old Spanish brand known for its leather goods.

The French luxury firm, which operates brands from Louis Vuitton to Celine, has tapped Stuart Vevers, the design director for Mulberry, to replace Jose Enrique Ona Selfa, the Belgian designer who held the creative top spot at the house for the last six years.

"Stuart fit the profile perfectly of what we wanted," said Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH's fashion division. "We have been making operational changes at the brand recently. Now we want to emphasize Loewe's strong point — leather goods — with someone who can make desirable handbags."

Roussel called Vevers just the specialist required, having already proved his mettle while working at LVMH brands Givenchy and Louis Vuitton. "We were sorry to see Stuart go [to Mulberry] and we're very happy he's agreed to come back [to LVMH]," said Roussel.

Vevers, who is British, will join Loewe in January and be based in Madrid on a full-time basis. As for Ona Selfa, his swan song for the house will be a runway show in Paris in October, Roussel said.

Since he joined the company, Ona Selfa adopted a middle-of-the-road stylistic approach, with no-nonsense ready-to-wear and accessories that recycled many of the prevalent trends without making headlines.

Roussel said the goal was to generate energy at Loewe by investing in its development and consolidating its place in the accessories business.

"We want to build on the house's personality and difference," said Roussel, citing Loewe's long history in leather goods, which make up about 80 percent of sales.

Roussel said Vevers would oversee all of Loewe's creative aspects, including rtw. He said a presentation of Vevers' first creations — probably focusing on leather goods — was planned for March.

Underscoring LVMH's commitment to build the brand, Roussel said a new Loewe showroom in Paris was slated to open in September.

Recently, Loewe has shown potential. Roussel said sales of bags have grown around 20 percent a year the last few years.