Louis Vuitton pushes ahead with plans for global growth

There is no mistaking the classic designs and patterns. Known the world over for its iconic logos, Louis Vuitton is one of the most recognisable brands. Engraved on trunks, cases, handbags, purses, shoes, scarves and, more recently, clothing, the French house is the epitome of luxury and a long time symbol of prestige and wealth.

From the traditional to the modern, the 155-year-old company – a brand of the largest luxury goods maker, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton – continues to evolve and expand across the globe.

According to a Millward Brown study in 2009, Louis Vuitton is the world's 29th most valuable brand and is estimated to be worth $19.3 billion (Dh71.23bn). In keeping with its regional and global growth plans, this week saw the opening of its global store in the Dubai Mall. Although it is the third in Dubai following BurJuman and Mall of the Emirates, this 6,942 sq ft shop is the first to retail the entire range of products.

Damien Vernet, General Manager of Louis Vuitton for Middle East and India, tells Emirates Business about the global store, further regional expansion and how the brand keeps both traditional craftsmanship and modernity working side by side.


LVMH said in December it had scrapped plans to open a store in Ginza, one of Tokyo's busiest shopping districts. Has the economic slowdown affected expansion plans and sales??

We don't release sales figures but what I can say is that we are an extremely strong brand. Even in the downturn we have done well in the region and worldwide. We are continuing with our expansion and will be launching our first store in Lebanon in February and opening in Mongolia this year. This shows the confidence we have in the region and beyond.

As the luxury goods market was hit, is there any talk about not continuing with the store?

The new Dubai Mall store was already in the planning before the slowdown so we went ahead with the project and there was never any talk of not going forward with our plans for Dubai.

We are not stopping any of our investments, there are no plans to close any stores and we don't open any without carefully evaluating our costs and predictions. We are very positive about our future and the future of the brand.

The brand has been present in the Middle East for 26 years and in the UAE for 12, why is the region so important to the company??

Louis Vuitton made its first entrance into the Middle East in 1983 when it opened in Kuwait City and since then the relationship between the brand and the region has continued to grow. This is a new high point on what has been an exponential development of the brand.

Dubai is a cosmopolitan and dynamic place at the forefront of the economic and retail boom in the Middle East, it continues to attract vast amounts of tourists, businessmen and residents. For 12 years, Louis Vuitton has been proud to be associated with this phenomenal growth and the opening of this new flagship is a testimony to the synergistic harmonious relationship that we enjoy with the city and its local culture and heritage.

The UAE has many shared bonds with Louis Vuitton, not least its mix of tradition and modernity. How does the brand continue to create modern pieces while still keeping to its roots??

It is about mixing the old and the new, the traditional with innovation, sticking to the roots of the brand and the spirit of it while at the same time reinventing it for different generations. We are a 155 year-old-brand, which has to continue to be creative. Since Marc Jacobs joined us in 1997 we have developed our ready-to-wear line and collaborated with many popular artists for the collections including Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami which has attracted a younger clientele. We still make many items in the Asnieres workshop in France which opened in 1859 and the business is now in its fifth generation of the Vuitton family.

Louis Vuitton is one of the most luxurious brands in the world. What does luxury mean to you?

It means different things to different people. For me it is about evoking an emotion of pleasure. Luxury can be spending time with your family or it can be a beautiful bag. It is something that makes you happy.

Tell us about the Excellence du Savoir-Faire exhibition?

To mark our 150th year anniversary, Louis Vuitton partnered with iconic figures such as the Chef Ferran Adrià, the artist Damien Hirst and the photographer Annie Leibovitz as well as others to create a unique order – these items are now on show in The Dubai Mall.

To celebrate the art of Arabic writing we also produced a luxury alligator calligraphy case which has been created in three versions for Dubai – two in monogram canvas which will be available to buy at the store and a third which is being auctioned for the benefit of the UAE Association for Down syndrome [the bidding closes on Saturday].

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