Away from High-end luxury Brand
Louis Vuitton is getting further and further away from ‘high-end luxury brand.’ Louis Vuitton, which commanded the domestic luxury market as the first generation leader, announced that it launched an official online store in South Korea on Jan. 30 in 25 years after the French luxury brand opened its first outlet here. CHANEL and Hermes, which are called high-end luxury brands, are operating only offline in South Korea.
In this regard, an official from the industry said, “Some market watchers say that Louis Vuitton, which was considered one of the top three luxury brands only a few years ago, has become a “masstige brand,” which refers to prestige for the masses, losing out to top two brands – CHANEL and Hermes.
As a matter of fact, Louis Vuitton expanded and lowered entry prices for luxury brands in the past few years. In short, Louis Vuitton is now so common that you can see a Louis Vuitton bag on the street very easily. In fact, the name value of Louis Vuitton in duty free stores, which give entertainments to luxury fashion brands, is not as good as it used to be.
Louis Vuitton has decided to begin online sales in South Korea as part of its strategy to capture the Millennial generation in their 20s and 30s. Dior has also opened an online store in South Korea for the first time in Asia in 2016. Gucci has launched its direct online store in 2011, followed by Burberry and Ferragamo. Gucci, which is the first luxury brand to open its online store in South Korea, is gaining high popularity among the millennials with young-looking design.
It is still unclear whether Louis Vuitton’s latest move will lead to success or not. An official from the fashion industry said, “Louis Vuitton has opened its official online store for a younger generation to survive. It remains to be seen whether its attempt will raise the value of Louis Vuitton.”