The innovatory nature of Louis Vuitton is a common factor throughout the company that has led to the brand’s success. This notion of innovation has been enhanced through collaborations, the Ansoff Matrix, brand resonance and differentiation strategies.
Innovation of Louis Vuitton started at its earliest days. From creating waterproof luggage tops to revolutionary locks and monograms – the brand never hesitated in trying something new (Davis, 2020). One of the most reputable moments in history would be with Supreme in fall 2017. It was known as “one of the most profitable and influential fashion launches of the century” according to Business Insider (Davis, 2020). This collaboration grew the brand into the world of streetwear and inspired other fashion houses to branch out (Jeffries, 2017) .
LOUIS VUITTON X SUPREME COLLABORATION BOARD:
Undoubtfully, these original collections have sky-rocketed financial growth. Asian and American shoppers have created a demand for high fashion as well as leather products. This led to LVMH starting the new financial year with a growth of 52% (Guilbault, 2021). The company believes that this is due to a new sustainable spending culture where consumers are investing in quality over quantity (Guilbault, 2021).
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ANSOFF MATRIX:
“Marketing strategies are concerned with creating a competitive advantage” (Blythe, 2014, pp.353)
Furthermore, aligning with the key motive of innovation, the fashion house created a differentiation strategy that inspires growth whilst upholding brand image. The core idea of this competitive advantage is to embed the uniqueness of Louis Vuitton into their products and customers, thus maintaining a sturdy consumer base (Butler, 2018). The brand’s logo is one of their greatest differentiation tools. The tools create a sense of loyalty that effects Louis Vuitton’s image in the public domain (Dillion, 2011, pp.132). A positive public image ultimately leads to sustained growth. With the company being one of the oldest fashion houses in the world, their brand image has a strong leverage point helping maintain this growth (Butler, 2018).
LOUIS VUITTON'S BRAND RESONANCE BOARD:
Another example of a differentiation strategy used by Louis Vuitton has to do with the designer Marc Jacobs. It comes as no surprise when Louis Vuitton welcomed Marc Jacobs onto the team as artistic director of women’s collections in 1997. Just having the designer on the team changed the brand image – the world now viewed the brand at the fashion fore-front more than ever before, grabbing attention of a more artistic consumer base. When Jacobs joined Louis Vuitton, he was tasked with modernizing the brand, which involved making a few changes (Johnson, 2020). The first change he made was leaving out the “Louis Vuitton” text from the bottom of the LV logo. Moreover, to create a brand image to appeal to younger consumers, the designer created a new monogram with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The changed monogram created touchpoints with the sphere of art and higher prestige (Stefania Masè, 2017, pp. 156-184). This modernized version consisted of a yellow, pink, blue, purple and white monograms with a coloured logo (V.C.G, 2018). Thus, one could say the adaptions of the brand ensured constant and sustainable growth.
LOUIS VUITTON X TAKASHI MURAKAMI COLLABORATION BOARD:
Since differentiating creates a worthier customer value (Armstrong, 2017, pp.134), LVMH further differentiates into the sphere of art by opening a privately funded modern art museum in 2014. The Fondation in Paris consists of 11 galleries displaying contemporary artworks, where the museum structure itself is an artwork on its own (Traub, 2021).
In short, it is clear to see why Louis Vuitton has the strongest fashion brand. Their ability to stay true to their routes while offering contemporary and original products, allows them to stand out against alternatives and maintain the interests of a variety of consumer markets.
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