For six consecutive years between 2006 and 2012, French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton was considered to be the world’s most valuable luxury brand and it is certainly one of the best-known globally in 2025.
The company started life in Paris in 1854 when Louis Vuitton realised that flat-top travel trunks would stack more effectively than the traditional round topped ones and created a canvas – and therefore waterproof – travel trunk. This seemingly prosaic innovation was such as success that many copycat versions appeared, prompting Vuitton to create the beige and brown striped design featuring the brands LV marque now integral to the brands image.
Opening the Louis Vuitton Building on the Champs Elysees in 1913 – the world’s largest travel goods store – the brand quickly expanded overseas to London then New York, Alexandria and Buenos Aires.
The brand continued to expand across the globe and the consciousness of the luxury-buying public, cemented by its 1983 partnership with the America’s Cup yacht race to form the Louis Vuitton Cup, which put the company brand on a truly internationally recognised level of luxury. This led to the merger of LV with luxury drinks brands Moet et Chandon and Hennessy in 1987 to create parent company LVMH. It is said that profits across the three companies lept by 45% in the year between 1987 and 1988 following the merger – and the group has continued to be a powerful force in the luxury world since, owning some 75 of the world’s best known luxury brands.
While figures for the Louis Vuitton brand within LVMH aren’t publicly available, the overall LVMH group saw revenues rise 1% between 2023 and 2024, however profit from recurring operations dropped 14%. This is perhaps a bellwether of the broader global luxury market, which is seeing margin pressures grow and a slowing of demand as the cost-of-living crisis in many markets continues to bubble along.
In France, Louis Vuitton is considered a high-end brand, but its ready-to-wear ranges are popular with both men and women shoppers and the company continues to be a popular choice for many shoppers thanks to its highly recognisable monogrammed products. Luxury bags and luggage continue to be a popular choice with French consumers, although much of the brand’s appeal lies overseas.
Online, the company works hard to maintain a ring-fenced direct-to-consumer approach, controlling all aspects of the selling process. It’s website emphasises content over direct product selling, showcasing high-quality videos, imagery and articles that highlight the brand’s heritage and exclusivity. However, this has led some to critique the site as not very shopper-friendly, being all about the story and images and not so much about making it easy for shoppers to actually buy anything.
This is one of six profiles illustrating the French luxury sector in the brand new report. Cartier, Givency, L’Occitane, Vestiaire Collective and Yves Saint Laurent are also studied in detail.
The InternetRetailing France Luxury 2025 report presents a comprehensive overview of the market’s strong profitability and the unique motivations of French luxury consumers, who value quality, local goods, and increasingly, sustainability.
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