Brief Study on Marketing Strategies of French Luxury Brands in China - Taking Louis Vuitton as an Example

Abstract

Luxury goods refer to those high-end items that are beyond the ordinary consumption level, which may not be daily necessities and are bought to pursue better life and taste. According to the traditional concepts of Chinese people, choosing to buy luxury goods is equivalent to “money worship”, which manifests extravagance and waste. However, researchers believe that luxury goods emerged as people’s income grew and their living standards improved, and they have unique social and economic significance, reflecting social progress and economic development. According to surveys and studies, hundreds of millions of Chinese people can afford luxury goods. Despite the fact that a number of luxury brands have entered the Chinese market, only a few succeeded. Among them, Louis Vuitton is the most outstanding one. What is the origin of the concept of luxury goods? How did foreign luxury brands achieve successful development? How did they market and promote their products and consecutively set sales records in China? Why are luxury goods so appealing? In this paper, these questions are discussed, where Louis Vuitton, a century-old established brand, is taken as an example to investigate its marketing conditions and methods in China, and put forward some views on its marketing and promotion strategies in China’s luxury goods market. Meanwhile, some suggestions on the marketing and promotion efforts of Chinese luxury brands are given, aiming to help these brands get rid of the current predicament.