Ralph Lauren Wimbledon Collection

In 1967, Ralph Lauren took a loan from Norman Hilton and established Polo Fashions. However, Ralph Lauren wanted more control with his business and decided to establish the Polo and Ralph Lauren brand. Two years later, Ralph Lauren was the first male fashion designer to open a store at Bloomingdale. His store and menswear was very successful and decided to take the risk to launch a women’s collection in 1971. Ralph Lauren started to become famous for its polo player logo on his shirts. After years of success, difficulties, and guidance, Ralph Lauren continued expansion all around the globe. He also established other brands such as the Ralph Lauren Black Label and Purple Label. to attract more variety of consumers. The main reason behind Ralph Lauren’s success is that he designs clothes that is stylish and consistent. “I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don’t think of them as fashion.”

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/I0BnY5LN3bM/TprSuZg1_pI/AAAAAAAABqM/MD0Idz3WvKQ/s640/ralph_lauren+%25281%2529.jpg

http://www.businesswings.co.uk/articles/Ralph-Lauren-empire-builder?pageNum=1 

http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/retailerquotes.htm

A.P.C Store at East London http://www.style.com/blogs/stylefile/wp-content/uploads/apc2.jpg

After A.P.C extended its store to Shoreditch; recently, many fashion retailers are also joining into the streets of East London. The Shoreditch area have been known for ugly buildings and high criminal rates. However, the rise of bars. lounges, art galleries, and fashion retailers have changed the area entirely. With lower rents and new real estate developments at Shoreditch, luxury brands such as Christian Louboutin, Vivienne Westwood, Prada, and Ralph Lauren are all moving into East London. Moreover, fashion labels from Japan and China are also looking for a place in the area due to its lower rents. The main reason behind the expansion of luxury retailers into Shoredtich is due to the intense competition in the “hot spots” of London.  As more and more retailers move into East London, rents are also expected to rise.

http://www.style.com/stylefile/2011/05/apc/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/19/uk-retail-shoreditch-idUSLNE79I01620111019

Tailors working at Dior http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cTe_gzh_QGA/TqEGme1BevI/AAAAAAAAAc8/VA0UUffyQ1k/s640/dior-lvmh14.jpg

Behind the growth and success of LVMH Group, the largest group on luxury products in the world, is its high quality craftsmanship. The reason that consumers are willing to buy these luxury products is because of its high quality and art of producing these products. For example at Dior, a experienced elderly tailor will teach small groups of tailors the best way of making a men’s jacket. And for Givenchy, gowns were made on unique mannequins based on the body of their different clients.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/uk-lvmh-reveals-secrets-of-its-luxury-br-idUSLNE79H01P20111018 

Sotheby Auction http://www.fineartsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/sothebysauctiones_468x297.jpg

An article on Deutsche Welle’s website suggested art market has become safe haven for investor who don’t know where to invest their money. Sotheby’s had its best sales in history of 3.4 billion dollars during the first half of the year 2011. In comparison to the financial crisis in 2008, art owners are more active selling their artwork to auction houses. According to the article more than 440 artworks were sold each for more than a million dollars this year. The article also provided advice that investors should be cautious about buying works from contemporary artists. Moreover, artworks that is before the modern and contemporary times have more stable value, as well as possible increase in value. The director of Sotheby’s Cologne office advised that, “Customers should think about what they personally like, inform themselves and only then buy.”

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15438424,00.html

Hermes' limited edition saris in India http://idiva.com/media/content/2011/Aug/hermes_sari.jpg

The recent article from AFP presented some Hermes‘ new strategies in the growing luxury market in India. In 2010, Hermes brought in the Chinese luxury brand “ShangXia” into China, as another strategy to enter the Chinese luxury market.  This brand in China emphasized Chinese culture and the blend of modern design and fashion.   Recently, Hermes have also brought in a new marketing strategy into the growing market of luxury goods in India with the idea of launching limited edition Indian traditional saris that costs from $6120 to $8158. Moreover, Hermes have added more Indian designs onto their luxury silk scarves. Hermes also opened a new flag store in Mumbai that is located on the first level of a colonial era building, which differentiates itself from the other luxury brands that are situated in five star hotels and malls.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ifoQMekxNvR00RqK2LUsyQwn9bvA?docId=CNG.2dcb68d1c001f58225bc79b145422ed5.181

Paris Fashion Week http://www.ifel.cl/blog/IMG_4704.JPG

The recent slowdown of economic growth in China, European debt crisis, and the high US unemployment rates have caused worries to the fashion industry at the Paris Fashion Week. It not only caused worries to the fashion industry, but also to investors whom began to sell off luxury and fashion related stocks. Stocks such as LVMH, Burberry, Richemont, and PPR have lost more than 10 percent since September due to the panic in the stock market.  Cheuvreux and UBS also added that the luxury market growth for next year will slow down to 8 to 9 percent from the original 15 percent. However, department stores are still confident about the future sales.  On the other hand, executives of various fashion industries such as Hermes and Lanvin have expressed their concern and fear of  future impacts to the industry due to the unpredictable world economy.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/05/idINIndia-59730220111005 

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-09-29-events-LuxuryMarketingCouncil9.27.jpg

A recent article from Huffington Post reported that the Luxury Marketing Council have started to be more aware of the growing Latino market for luxury goods in North America.  The Luxury Marketing Council consists of marketing professionals and executives from luxury brands such as Bentley Motors, Cartier, Armani, and many other luxurious brands. The writer of the article suggested that Hispanic households with income over $110,000 and more have increased 221% and that African Americans and Latinos now spent 47% of their income on luxury goods. The writer also suggested three marketing strategies that the luxury brands can do to attract Latinos in which she noted the importance of culture, context, and language.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lili-gil/breaking-stereotypes-the-_b_985275.html 

Mainland Chinese tourists lining up at a LV store in Hong Kong. http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/hong-kong-louis-vuitton-queue.jpg

According to the latest article from Reuters, stocks such as Coach, Tiffany, LVMH, Hermes, and Ralph Lauren have all fallen due to the worries that China’s is economy and growing middle class is slowing down. Moreover, there have been research that suggests that China’s GDP growth is starting to slow down too. However, China still is a big market for luxury  brands. For example, the article mentioned that the luxury market grew around 23 percent last year. From my personal observation, I believe that the market for luxury goods in China will continue to grow despite the decline in growth of China’s GDP.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/luxury-stocks-idUSS1E78S1AA20110929

Bernard Arnault, the CEO and chairman of LVMH Group, is known for his success in expanding LVMH into a global empire that sells luxury goods. http://www.businessoffashion.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/bernard-arnault-Source-Fashion-Pile.jpeg

LVMH group is the largest and most profitable luxury goods group in the world that consists of luxury brands in fashion, jewelry, and wine. Through successful marketing and branding strategies, LVMH have expanded into a massive global empire of luxury goods. The reasons why the goods from luxury brands are expensive are mainly because of reputation, good branding, high quality, and good service. LVMH is also known for taking their brands into new developing markets such as India, China, and Vietnam.  The marketing strategy of LVMH is about being innovative and creative, as well as being able to acknowledge the changing tastes of different consumers in various regions of the world.  A recent marketing strategy of LVMH is their development of a digital fashion magazine. This is a brilliant strategy because luxury brands mainly rely on the marketing through fashion magazines to create more brand awareness.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1122/fashion-bernard-arnault-lvmh-luxury-dior-master-of-brand.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/louis-vuitton-chanel-marketing-2011-8