Louis Vuitton is Hap-py
An article last weekend by The Wall Street Journal Paris bureau reporter Nick Kostov titled "The Formula for Louis Vuitton's World Domination" was a perfect context-setter for a big announcement a few days later.
First the context. Then the announcement.
Kostov's article explained how LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) has become the world's largest luxury brand under the direction of founder, chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault.
The company is having a moment right now.
LVMH is a multinational luxury goods conglomerate that owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Moët & Chandon, (and yes, even Birkenstock) is approaching $100B in revenue.
The family-owner Bernard Arnault is currently the world's richest man, recently outdistancing Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
LVMH's profile has never been higher based on Launchmetrics data that capture the value of media mentions. Everyone is talking about them.
Kostov focuses on three drivers underlying LVMH's success.
First, Mr. Arnault has strong connections to the art world through the LVMH Foundation, which runs an art museum in Paris. This gives him access to star power that can be used for tie-ups like the one with Yaoyoi Kusama. She is the highest-grossing female artist at auction of all time, and recently collaborated with Louis Vuitton on a 450-piece collection and larger-than-life marketing communications platform that appears to be resetting norms in the industry.
Next, Louis Vuitton intentionally limits the supply of its own products to retain a sense of exclusivity. The brand makes small production runs for products in each collection. The idea is to make slightly less than demand to maintain scarcity and avoid mainstreaming.
Lastly, Louis Vuitton is taking more and more inspiration from the street. In 2018, the company hired Virgil Abloh, the African American designer behind the luxe streetwear label Off-White, as its creative director for menswear. Abloh broadened the customer base, bringing in a younger clientele that was less afraid of flashy aesthetics. Abloh died of cancer in November 2021.
And now for the big announcement, which is more interesting when understood in this context.
Louis Vuitton named rapper and music producer Pharrell Williams as the next creative director of their menswear division. This news came a little over a year since the death of Virgil Abloh and effectively doubles down on the strategy.
Although I'm not an LV person myself, I'm interested to see what Williams comes out with.
You can read and watch more here (registration required):
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/style/pharrell-williams-louis-vuitton-mens-creative-director.html
