Abstract
Louis Vuitton was founded in the XIX century as a packing-case making firm. These packing cases were very useful because at that time people used to travel a lot for a long duration that lasted several months, and even several years. Packing cases of those times represent suitcases on castors. However, old packing cases are useless presently and are more a symbol of art than as a tool to transport affairs.
Vuitton is part of the LVMH group managed by Bernard Arnault, the captain of the industry. In 2005, LVMH was composed of at least of fifty different brands with a turnover of 14 billion of euros and a profit of 2.7 billion of euros. With 2.8 billion of turnover, Louis Vuitton is the most significant brand of the LVMH group and one of the most well-known. Louis Vuitton is “the McDo of the luxury industry” (Dana Thomas, Luxe & Co: Comment les marques ont tué le luxe, 2008). As an uncontested leader of the luxury sector, with its skyrocketing sales, shops present everywhere worldwide and on most important tourist places, Louis Vuitton has indeed come a long way. Mostly located close to a McDo, it has a logo as recognizable as the famous M gilded of the famous American fast food chain.
“A brand cannot function without a strategy and the function of brand management is to implement brand strategy.” How we can evaluate the Louis Vuitton brand? And how could Louis Vuitton brand be developed in the next 5-10 years? We will try to study these two points by analyzing the Louis Vuitton brand through appropriate theories and models from inception to the present day.
