Louis Vuitton's Leap from Trunk Specialist to World-Class Brand

What does "luxury brand" mean to you? The definition of a luxury brand is as follows.
"Having a long history and a proven track record of being loved by aristocrats and the upper class based on the high quality of its products."
Although Louis Vuitton is now a representative of a brand that everyone seems to know, when it was founded, it was a specialty store specializing in the manufacture and sale of trunks.
Although there were many other stores that sold trunks, Louis Vuitton excelled in creating trunks that were ahead of their time and in pursuing ease of use and safety. As a result, the company attracted the attention of aristocrats, royalty, and other celebrities of the time, and it is thought that the company's reputation grew, as it was later honored at the Universal Exposition in Paris. Although there were no means of transportation such as airplanes at that time, the brand would grow into a luxury brand loved by celebrities around the world, with orders for trunks even coming from the royal families of distant Russia and Spain.

The power of Georges, the second president, to transmit his message

The Exposition Universelle in Paris

Louis Vuitton's founder, Louis, was a trunk maker who devised and manufactured trunks that were loved by celebrities and also pursued ease of use and safety. Although Louis Vuitton became a brand loved by celebrities as a result, it was the 18th century, when trains (locomotives, not trains) were just beginning to spread, airplanes were not yet available, and there were no such conveniences as radio, television, or the Internet. In other words, there was no instantaneous spread of information around the world. Under such circumstances, Louis' son, Georges, the second president of the company, started "sales" by traveling around the world and selling Vuitton products.
At a time when the only way to cross the Atlantic was by ship, he traveled all the way to the United States, selling Vuitton products while traveling to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other cities.
As mentioned earlier, at that time, World Expositions were beginning to be held in many parts of the world. Georges actively exhibited Vuitton products at such large-scale events to increase his exposure to the public.

Damier, Monogram, and famous designs born from the battle against imitations

As is the case even today, popular products are always accompanied by copied products. Louis Vuitton, too, has been plagued by copycats since its founder Louis was still alive and well. After thinking of a pattern that would be difficult to imitate, his son Georges came up with the "Damier" design (some say it was inspired by a chessboard, others by a Japanese checkered pattern). The Damier became the world's first trademarked product, and although it was discontinued for a period of time, it was revived in recent years and has become one of Louis Vuitton's signature designs to this day. After that, Vuitton began selling new handbags. However, because there were copies of the Damier trademark in the market, it became necessary to create a new design to strengthen the measures against counterfeit products. The result was "Monogram," a design synonymous with Vuitton that has continued to the present day. It is said that the Monogram was inspired by the crest of a Japanese family participating in the World Exposition (some say it is the crest of the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain). The patterns were also very elaborate, with each one created by hand by craftsmen. It is said that because of this, it was very difficult to make imitations and was very effective in combating counterfeit goods.

Damier, one of Vuitton's most famous lines

The popularity in Japan surprised even the head office. Expansion into Asia.

In the 1970s, Louis Vuitton entered the Japanese market, and in the 1980s, it expanded its business to Hong Kong and the rest of Asia (it is said that the reason for entering the Japanese market was to correct a problem that Vuitton products were being sold at much higher prices than were appropriate due to their popularity, which was perceived by the Vuitton headquarters as a problem, (It is said that the reason for entering the Japanese market was to correct this problem.) Louis Vuitton has since transformed itself from a travel bag brand to a fashion brand, and continues to present new collections in the 21st century with its power of communication that has not diminished since the time of the second generation Georges, including collaborations with various artists.

History of Louis Vuitton (excerpts)

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