|Swatantra Shandilya|

Contents:-Brand and the HistoryLV: Bird’s Eye ViewProductsThe Brand IdentityPoints –of-DifferencePerceptual MapQuestionnaireWhat’s Next?Query

Brand and the HistoryFounded in 1854, by Louis Vuitton: Malletier a Paris

1896 Georges Vuitton designed the famous ‘Monogram Canvas’

1920 - Global Expansion

1930 – signature bags launched 1977: Joined 10 million clubs1987: Merged with Moet at Chandon & Hennessy

LV: Bird’s Eye ViewBrand Mantra: Innovative, Prestige, Desirable, Stylish and Dream would be for me

Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy - LVMH - world's largest luxury conglomerate

60 different brands

Headquartered in Paris, France

The merger between the luxury leather goods company Louis Vuitton and the liquor company Moet Hennessy took place in 1987. CEO is Michael Burke .

Louis Vuitton Products

Louis Vuitton Products

Louis Vuitton Products

The Brand Identity• Ultra Luxurious Goods, Monogram,

High QualityPHYSICAL

• Elegant, Subtle, Comfort, ClassyPERSONALITY

• Legacy, TraditionRELATIONSHIP

• Art of travel, Craftsmanship, Exclusivity, Elite Clientele CULTURE

• Understated Luxury, Affluence, SuccessREFLECTION

• Symbol for Social StatusSELF-PROJECTION

Key Competitors Although LVMH (parent company) owns or has stakes in majority of luxury labels but still they are not untouched from the competition from brands of similar stature, such as:

Points –of-DifferenceWith such a cut-throat competition in hyper-luxury goods market, LV leverage their Heritage, Quality and “No Discounts” factors to differentiate from competition

Price is never a differentiator, because luxury goods industry works against the law of economics. More price leads to more sale and desirability factor

LV’s association with top celebrities, more than any other competitor brand, also helps in attracting more customers.

Perceptual Map

How does an exclusive brand such as LV grow and stay fresh while retaining its cachet?

As it is designing its products according to latest fashion and keeping in view demand of todays customers and using celebrities who are famous as their brand ambassadors so the people following get to know about the product The USP of LV is its tradition to manufacture its product from past 150 years i.e. hand made products and as mentioned in the case it take upto 60 hours to make a bag which itself makes the brand luxurious and exclusive.

Is the counterfeiting of LV always a negative? Are there any circumstances where it can be seen as having some positive aspects?

Luxury brands like LV, Gucci etc. always follow rule of economy religiously in most of the cases. So, if counterfeit of such a brand used to happen, the consumers tend to stick more toward original brand not for the first time but definitely next time. The reason being, ‘budget’ is not a constraint at all for such customers. In addition to that, it is the level of precision and quality that makes the brand like LV luxurious and expensive. So those customers who all are looking for all these, will again going to stick emotionally. Sometimes, counterfeiting also helps reaching the name of a brand or brand positioning in ‘word-of-mouth’ way or another.

What’s Next? - Recommendations

Focus on its core activity of producing leather products and they should scrap the product lines that are not generating much profit such as: certain accessories, perfumes, books, etc.

Enhance the exclusivity factor especially to compete with Hermes by launching limited edition or special edition products.

Launch customized products for emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Russia and Mauritius.

Launch a economic line of products to fight piracy – may be as a shadow brand.

Thanks