LV has always been known as an innovator. The ambition of the original family to spread their products and quality around the world has been the key of success of what we know today as Louis Vuitton. Only George Vuitton, after his death in 1936 left more than 750 designs of handbags and luggage. He was also the one who changed the pattern of Louis Vuitton, inspired by the Japanese motifs. The innovation of the company has been outstanding. Along with the luggage and the handbags Louis Vuitton has expanded its line of products with the art of traveling and art of packing. Books, city guides and even catalogs always sell out. In 1997, the company hired Marc Jacobs Vuitton as its Artistic Director. Marc Jacobs introduced the first pret a porter line for Louis Vuitton. The clothing line was incredibly successful, and there were no doubts it could have been otherwise. Marc Jacobs is a true artist, and the association of Louis Vuitton with the art world transpires in all of its products. This is what gives Louis Vuitton an absolute advantage. Either you buy a handbag, a luggage, a pair of shoes or even sunglasses, they will make you feel special because there is a story behind each product. There is a journey, and there is art in this journey. Is the art that makes the luxury.
With the arrival of Marc Jacobs, the men’s and women’s ready-to-wear line had been expanded with the introduction of shoes, watches and jewelry.
Louis Vuitton uses their windows in their flagship locations as creative ways to promote their new products. An example of the creative way is the picture above, when Louis Vuitton collaborated with the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Marc Jacobs said: "It is a wonderful idea the collaboration with art, it changes the environment. For many people who don't look at art or go to galleries, there will be a new venue, a new place to come and appreciate it through the eyes of Vuitton." From a marketer prospective, this is the best way to maintain the relationship with existing customers by offering not only new products, but pieces of art work. It also implies that the world of Louis Vuitton is endless.
Let's start by saying that Louis Vuitton is a legend in the luxury market. Legend is one element of a product's appeal which tends to be overlooked. Lineage, origin, and history provide anesthesia for the "pain of spending." As far as luxury brands are concerned, the excellence of the sheer quality, exceptionalness of design, and appeal of fashionable trends due to the contemporary efforts of those in the management ranks, artisans, and designers are important elements. In addition to these, the previous history of the house brand and mythical episodes are also valuable components of a brand's appeal. General marketing looks to "mass advertising" in its efforts to sell at high volume.
Television commercials typify that approach. Louis Vuitton, however, did not advertise on television until 2007. It's first commercial was an institutional commercial and since then the company has continued that line. It's TV commercials appear on golf and traveling channels and target a specific audience such as the business people who travel often. While Louis Vuitton does advertise in newspapers and magazines, these consist mainly of image ads rather than "aggressive" sales ads, and more focus is given to publicity (being taken in the media). The age of the House of Louis Vuitton cannot be said to have been rabid about promotion, meaning that most of the principles for promotion likely originated with the luxury brand strategy of the holding company LVMH. At Louis Vuitton the main stars are the products themselves, and it encourages customers to pledge their allegiance to the products. The photographs and text in Louis Vuitton advertisements position the products in the starring role. "Louis Vuitton trunks are solid." "Vernis and monogram mini-bags are adorable." "How functional is the business briefcase?" "Who should you entrust the repair of your bag to?" Talk of matters aside from Louis Vuitton products does not appear.
Louis Vuitton's use of personalised e-commerce shows marketers how luxury brands can preserve their exclusive shopping experience and aspirational brand image online. Louis Vuitton is able to offer its traditional personalised service to its community of Facebook users via its Mon Monogram app. Users discuss purchase to a much greater extent than for other post topics, suggesting the app can act as a call to action while maintaining Louis Vuitton’s luxurious brand image. Alongside its posts about culture and travel, Louis Vuitton's Facebook page features the Mon Monogram app. which allows members to fully customise their bag with hand-painted personal initials and stripes on the colour and direction of their choice. They are then prompted to visit the Louis Vuitton store to purchase their customised bag. Users of the app can also send “virtual” gifts to each other, adding a social dimension to the experience.
Louis Vuitton, has been a part of the fashion industry for approximately 157 years, dating back to the 19th century. The company started in France and is recognized world-wide for creating speciality products. In the past, the fashion and luxury industry were made possible by the craftsmanship and motivation of the best skilled artists. All Louis Vuitton luggage and handbags are created by the hands of talented artisans. Each product is carefully crafted using the finest materials. Originally Louis Vuitton created luggage in the mid 1800’s. The company expanded the product offerings to handbags in the early 1890’s. The actual product variety remained limited, while an assortment of luggage and handbag styles flourished with the creation of new fabrics, logos, and designs.
Today the Monogram Canvas and the Monogram Denim remain two of Louis Vuitton’s most popular designs. The company has expanded the depth of their products greatly by producing many additional handbag lines. Presently, the most popular lines including the Monogram Canvas and Denim are; the
Monogram Multicolore, Monogram Mini, Monogram Mini Lin, Monogram Satin, Monogram Vernis, Monogram Perfo, Damier Azur, Damier Azur Canvas, Damier Geant Canvas, Onatah Leather, Nomade Leather, Suhali Leather, Epi Leather, Antigua, and Velvet Chains. Within each handbag line, there is an even larger product depth ranging from various sizes and styles. Every single type of bag has its own special name under the line category. Some popular handbag names in the Monogram Canvas line are; Lockit, Lockit Vertical, Lockit Horizontal, Speedy 25, Speedy 30, Alma, Mini Noe, Noe.
In 1997, Marc Jacobs was hired by Louis Vuitton to be its label’s artistic director.
That year he introduced the company’s first ready-to-wear line of clothing. This was the first time that Louis Vuitton ventured to a new product offering other than luggage and handbags. Today Louis Vuitton product offerings also include cosmetic and vanity cases, sunglasses, shoes, scarves and accessories, belts, timepieces, and fine jewelry. The company built its foundations on the hand work that goes into each of its custom made products.
Since the company first began, all products have been concentrated on by the art of craftsmanship. Louis Vuitton does not use machinery to mass produce their handbags. Just a few years ago 20-30 craftsmen were needed to assemble the Louis Vuitton “Reade” tote bag in approximately an
eight day time period. However, with the increase of boutiques, the company found problems keeping all their stores fully stocked. To solve the problem without depending on machines, Louis Vuitton turned to a more modern idea of the factory line, inspired by car maker Toyota Motor Corporation. Louis Vuitton does not want to alter the company’s image by changing the way the bags are produced. The service offering have not exactly changed, but rather expanded with time. The new factory format is known as Pegase, named after the mythological winged horse and Louis Vuitton’s rolling suitcase. The main change under the new method of the assembly line is that the handbags no longer sit on carts before they are transferred to the next station to be worked on.
The company is now able to distribute new collections to their boutiques every six weeks, speeding up the process more than twice as fast. Louis Vuitton still holds on their old traditions, although changing moderately to keep up with the fast pace economy.
The original pattern of Louis Vuitton's trunks was a striped canvas. However, as the label became more and more popular, it was copied more and more. So, in 1889, Louis and Georges Vuitton decided to change their signature pattern to a brown draught board pattern on a beige background. This new pattern was the very first registered trademark (Marque L. Vuitton despose'). The new pattern was referred to as the Damier canvas. After Louis Vuitton died, his son Georges became the mastermind behind the company. Georges had true international ambitions, with plans to expand into the United States. By this time, competitors had also copied the Damier canvas. It was time to come up with a new signature pattern that was much more difficult to copy. Georges created the new motif, which was comprised of a beige circle containing a four-petal flower, a curved beige lozenge containing a four-pointed curved star, a star with a point in the center, and the initials LV in memory of his father. Finally, the monogram canvas, so well known today was born. One main thing to remember, Louis Vuitton, is always about perfection, and would never put out anything less than that. At Louis Vuitton Malletier, 85% of the corrugated packaging used to transport products is totally composed of recycled fibers. The labelling is purily informative. In its labels Louis Vuitton describes the material used for the products, where these products are made, and the bar code.
Louis Vuitton does not offer an expressed warranty but offers a service of repair throughout lifetime.
For the launch of the My Monogram service on Small Leather Goods, Louis Vuitton asked British artist Billie Achilleos to work on 4 animals made of Louis Vuitton Small Leather Goods.
The creativity and and the association with art makes Louis Vuitton a unique company. Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs is a story of two personalities and their contributions to the world of fashion : Louis Vuitton, founder of the house of Louis Vuitton in 1854, and Marc Jacobs, its artistic director since 1997. Two innovators , both rooted in their respective centuries, advanced an entire industry.
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With the arrival of Marc Jacobs, the men’s and women’s ready-to-wear line had been expanded with the introduction of shoes, watches and jewelry.
