LVMH in the recession; The substance of style

Flight to quality my ass. Flight to whoever can spin their marketing to make their brands stand for quality while cutting corners and offshoring wherever they can in order to make more money at the expense of quality.

Indian Chrystall Champagne tastes great, No?

what's with all this

Louis Vuitton rocks!

Made in France quality cannot be beaten

Arnault is exactly right. No one in their right mind would call modern Zenith watches "blingy". The only products I can think of that LVMH hasn't screwed up in terms of either design or quality is their booze! I guess we should be anticipating that Indian "Champagne".

Good article - thanks for that.

yeah good article thanks.

Long ago I saw at Cost Plus "Omar Khayyam Champagne" -- but instead of being from Arabia it was from the state of Maharashtra, India!!!!

A few years ago someone gave me a Vuitton Epi wallet as a present. It was made in Spain. While I'm sure it was good quality, Vuitton trades on its heritage and history and the myth that its workrooms to the north of Paris are where its leathergoods are produced. If it wants to leverage its stable of brands or farm out work to China and India -- which it is doing -- I'm even less inclined to pay its prices.

When describing such absurdity, I wish the Economist would be more satirical.

I remember hearing about this. The story I heard was that some retailer was desperately trying to sell their stock and asked Vuitton HQ if they could put it on sale. HQ wrote back saying basically "No, but we'll pay to have it burned." That is serious brand protection! Neat article, thanks.

At least they are honest about it, they could always follow Zegna's lead and label things "Made in Zegna" because they know Made in China/India/etc doesn't sell as well.

I was in A terminal of Atlanta's airport (not the international terminal) and noticed that Bvlgari and Ferragamo had established outposts - right next to a hotdog eatery, cinnabon, and a store selling goods all under $10. There is nothing like stepping into a "luxury" boutique and sniffing packaged meats, farts, and 3 day old coffee to get you in the mood to buy.

I nearly cried. Luxury brands are dead.

I'm so sorry whnay. You should have gotten something from cinnabon to cheer yourself up.