Midterm: Well Known Product 1

“When Napoleon assumed the title of Emperor of the French in 1852, his wife hired Louis Vuitton as her personal box-maker and packer. This provided a gateway for Vuitton to a class of elite and royal clientele who would seek his services for the duration of his life and far beyond, as the Louis Vuitton brand would grow into the world-renowned luxury leather and lifestyle brand it is today.” (http://www.biography.com/people/louis-vuitton-17112264?page=1) This brand has been around more than 20 years and it is still successful.

Consumers:

Louis Vuitton isn’t supposed to suit your everyday person. Judging by the chart above from http://www.quantcast.com/louisvuitton.com, their demographics are mostly women who are between the ages of 18 to 44 and have no kids. They would usually make an income of $100k or higher, went to some college or grad school and are African American, Asian or Hispanic. The reason that Louis Vuitton brands itself to consumers that are older and make more money than usual people is because it is portrayed as a luxury brand.

Competitors:

Louis Vuitton has a few top competitors; some of them are Prada, Gucci, Chanel and Hermès. “Hermès -- the French fashion house that has evolved over its 174 years from selling harnesses and saddles to $7,000 handbags -- is refusing to be worn on the arm of competitor Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy” (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/19/fashion-feud-hermes-families-fend-off-louis-vuitton-bid/)

In the Market: 

Louis Vuitton has been around for more than 20 years and is still going strong. It one of the most highest luxury brand known for handbags. "Today, the Louis Vuitton range includes luggage, leather goods, ready-to-wear and show collections, as well as extraordinary jewellery and watches." (Louis Vuitton, Invitation Au Voyage) One major issue that they have is counterfeit handbags. Now days it is very easy to create fake Louis Vuitton handbags. "Louis Vuitton doesn’t appear to be interested in extending the brand. On Thursday a federal court ordered Eisenhauer Market, a San Antonio flea market, to pay the French luxury brand $3.6 million for trademark infringement, due to a failure to stop their vendors from selling knock-off LV’s, Guillermo Contreras of the San Antonio Express-News reported." (http://tmdailypost.com/article/culture/louis-vuitton-knocks-san-antonio-flea-market) I myself have the real Speedy 35 monogram and matching wallet. My sister has a fake Louis Speedy and one day we compared the differences and pointed out how they were different. Some ways was the stitching, on the real Louis the LV logo is upward on one side and upside on the other and at the bottom of the fake Louis there are little feet.

Cultivating the Community:

Once you buy a product from Louis Vuitton they give you the best customer service. They add you to their emailing list, send you a card which is handwritten by the sales associate saying thank you and you hope you like your new products and also a little informative book about the company. They also give back to the community by being socially responsible. "In 2010, Louis Vuitton supported the SOS Children's Villages association for actions in France throughout the world." (Louis Vuitton, Invitation Au Voyage)