Challenge statement:
"Despite worldwide softness in the sale of luxury goods, LVMH has cemented its position as the world 's largest and most profitable player in the category. To stay there it must keep its customers loyal and its brand strong and find new markets worldwide" (Hazlett C. 2004). That is why in its mission they state to represent the most refined qualities of Western " art de vivre" all around the world. Their objective is to be the leader in the luxury market, continuing to transmit elegance and creativity. This poses some major challenges, the main one is to keep being the leader in the luxury market through a sustainable growth. The main problem to achieve it is the high dependency on three main countries, France, Japan
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 Some of luxury products are easy to copy
There are a lot of forgery products available in Europe that are mainly produced in China. It is an important problem as it is really easy to buy those forgery products in the street, at a cheaper price.
 Little strategic fits between businesses like radio stations and its luxury products
There may be a problem in terms of strategic fits between the related and unrelated businesses LVMH is involved in. The diversification strategy may be seen as dangerous for the strategy coherence.
 Distribution network
They own their distribution network however focusing on selective retailing take time and money but it does not take part of their core competences. The problem is that they may not be expert in the area and make wrong strategic choices.
 They have only one retailing system.
The unique retailing system may be a threat if it not adapted for all their products: it may be different to retail wine and cosmetics.
 The target is very large , that is why they have to keep classical models and an innovative and fashion line to satisfy the whole target.
Alternatives
1) To expand the current existing brands geographically.
2) Alliances with new creators
3) Acquisitions of luxury companies in foreign countries
ANALYSIS OF THE ALTERNATIVES
1. To expand the exiting brands geographically
This strategy aims at entering new countries in order to
This expansion demonstrates how the luxury industry is now run by massive corporations whose focus is only on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and most importantly, PROFITS! With growth and expansion, has come a decrease in quality and rarity. The luxury garments produced are mostly not handmade but are even outsourced to large factories in places such as China and Turkey. Also, to meet quarterly turnover projections, “designers churn(ed) out increasingly trendy collections of clothes, handbags, and shoes.” (Thomas, Pg. 246) With hundreds of new stores around the globe the surplus of designer labeled merchandise is immense hence, the proliferation of outlet malls.
It is very crucial for every business to have a strong supply chain network in order to satisfy its customers before the competitors do. M&S though being one of the UK’s largest retailers is criticised by its Finance
Meanwhile, some consumers were also attracted by the counterfeit products, which have the same design and considerable quality. The situation of LV in Japan seems to be fierce, however, with effective solutions, LV can also seize the opportunity to sustain profitability in Japanese market rather than just survive. As it is stated in the case that Japanese consumers had been holding the desire for inexpensive luxury products from Louis Vuitton. Therefore, to solve this problem and attract more customers, LV should strive to make “inexpensive” products by increasing the value of products, lowering the costs and prices, and finally creating high value for the consumers. As the scandal of counterfeit sold on the websites in 2008 led to a decline in the sales of Louis Vuitton products, it can be viewed as a valued opportunity for Louis Vuitton to establish its own business online since it can both add selling channels and empower the company to fight with counterfeiting.
Low product differentiation and economies of scale: There isn’t much product differentiation at play in the retail industry as there are well known manufacturers whose products are offered for sale, which leaves price to compete on. Current well established retailers with thousands of stores enjoy the economies of scale to control their cost that a new entrant might not be able to replicate after immediately entering the industry.
Most markets are highly competitive, even if there are only a few organizations offering the product – the competition is for both initial and repeat sales. And of course, all organizations want their “slice of the pie”. With new adventures, however, come large risks. A successful company knows beforehand any issues that might arise so as to best plan how to deal with
The development of dedicated distribution systems by the large integrated retailers. The development and application of scanning systems provided the necessary information for the supply chain to be reversed from 'producer push ' to 'consumer pull '. A consequence of this process is the decline of traditional wholesalers and cash and carries that has the effect of further disadvantaging small retailers. The emergence of retail chains as national brands
The suppliers get the advantages of making their products be showcased for the consumers thru these retailing outlets. A wider scope of retail outlets could mean wider scope for the brand recognition of the seller’s products, that is why these retailing giants has more power than suppliers. But when it comes to distribution, having a strong supplier is important, the company be better over competitors when it comes to qualitative factors such as on time deliveries on their branches and wider network of
Most luxury brands have been family-owned or -controlled and, consequently, were single-brand firms for the most part. However, mergers and acquisitions have been growing in the industry, with LVMH leading the way. Our strategic recommendation is to follow LVMH’s lead and acquire a multitude of diverse companies to build the Gucci portfolio.
It is hard to imagine that after the financial crisis swept across Europe, many great transitional enterprises had to face collapse and bankrupt while the luxury goods industry become more prosperous. Recently, the French luxury goods group LVMH announced their recent business condition. The volume of the first week in October had incredibly increased by 12% the previous week. The Hermes Corporation also said that in order to meet the increasing number of market demand, it would open 15 branch stores in the latter half of the year. These aroused some fierce debates, the public held a skeptical opinion towards the questions: How can the luxury companies maintain their positions? Why didn’t they strike down by financial crisis?
Suppliers in the industry seek buyers who can move a lot of merchandise in a short period of time. The threat of substitution is a big deal in this industry. Most retail stores carry the same types of products with little differentiation. This makes it difficult for companies in this industry to keep customers coming back. This places an emphasis on the need to build a good reputation with customers.
This behavior brings competitive advantages to the European luxury brands. Moreover, customers in different countries have different purchase behaviors. For instance, some countries’ customers are willing to move away from common recognized brand, because they want to purchase more exclusive products. Furthermore, because of the increasing speed of globalization, people are more likely willing to travel between different countries. These travelers will buy luxury good during their trips. In fact, Chinese tourists contributed over one third of sales in Europe. The luxury goods industry should notice to adjust the actual demand between local people and tourists in Europe
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, a luxury goods provider is looking to expand their brand dominance in Asia. In order to expand successfully LVMH must evaluate challenges that may arise and get in the way of their successful expansion. In the Asian market, LVMH must deal with political and cultural uncertainties, the threat of counterfeit products, and the increased cost of products in Asia compared to France.
The economies of scale in the retail industry are huge. All of the companies in this industry have first mover advantage. Many of the competitors in this industry already have immense and diverse relationships with many of the suppliers they obtain and any new competitor will have a tough time trying to squeeze into the dealer network in order to establish themselves as any type of threat to another retailer.
LVMH’s brand portfolio is a catalogue of the finest things money can buy. Arnault said, “A Star brand is timeless, modern, fast growing and highly profitable.”[iii] LVMH has positioned its brands strongly in the luxury segment offering more than 50 different brands under their five core competencies. LVMH has been successful through all of their various brands in their portfolio giving them each their independence and creativity. “LVMH is well known for leaving much operational and marketing freedom to the various brands it owns.”[iv] “LVMH has done an excellent job of brand positioning, says Ben Cavender, senior analyst at China Market Research Group. It has succeeded in securing the particularly enviable position of gaining a following among the top percentage of China’s wealthy. As the financial crisis stretches on, LVMH customers in China still have money to spend.[v] “LVMH’s brand imaging, which relies heavily on pushing its European heritage, is so successful that it has benefited other brands by proxy, says Paul French, one of the founders of Access Asia, a group dedicated to tracking regional consumer and marketing trends. “Everyone hangs on the coattails of Louis Vuitton’s brand imaging in China.”[vi]
Luxury product sales boost in the emerging marketing like China, which has extraordinary growth and strong potential consumers for the development of luxury goods in the China market. With gradually lower and lower increase of revenue in the European countries, Louis Vuitton (abridged as LV in the following sections) commits itself to set up more stores in China. However, LV is faced with the problems of declining profits in China, which urges it to adjust its entry strategy into the China market. In this case, this report will focus on distinguishing the factors that influence LV’s development in China and