Serial Creative Director

I just got to write on this topic since I've learned to adore this brand (as have few other million people during 155-year history of Louis Vuitton). To be honest I did not so much appreciate LV 3 years ago, my opinion was that Hugo Boss had, and still has, the best quality/price index. BUT in the leather goodies department we have a new number one. I will now proceed to eat a few words spoken some years ago, since now I have a very personal and passionate relationship with LV.

Briefly about the history of LV
- Louis Vuitton. LV. One name, two celebrated initials, plus a few figures to sum up the company.
- Some 9,671 people work at Louis Vuitton in 85 different job categories and 300 stores in 44 countries around the world.
- Louis Vuitton is a fast-growing company and we have added over 1,000 jobs a year since 1998. In 2001 more than 100 new graduates joined LV. Today, 62 percent of LV employees work outside France. Louis Vuitton recruits talented people from outside the company, but fills 40 percent of new management positions through internal mobility.
- The following breakdown of employment in LV by general category: 52 percent marketing and sales, 39 percent production, and 9 percent support and headquarters staff.

And now back to the blog.

How to justify 1000€ for a bag or 250€ for a wallet?
The idea of just showing up your friends with 250 euros is stupid. Anyone can get two-fifty for a leather wallet. So the real questions is - is the LV wallet worth 250 euros? I've now used my LV wallet daily for around 13 months and it is still in peak shape. I take it everywhere and really use it. 8 months of the year it is in the right pocket of my bike jacket and gets punishing action daily. So far it has handled everything I have thrown at it.

These things are made to last. Previously I used to buy a new Hugo Boss wallet every 15 months since they simply wore out.. So my answer is - Yes, LV's are worth 250€.

For my bag, I do think it will last forever and even improve its' looks as years go by. Let's say it will last 20 years. A year will cost 50 euros, and if I would sell (will not) the bag after 20-years I would get more for it than I paid for it. I'm currently listening to Leonard Cohen's song about the famous blue raincoat, it is now around 1:23AM, I am feeling very relaxed and thinking of my bag as a 20-year old. I would be able to walk with it to a Vintage Vuitton store (yes there really are privately owned Vintage Vuitton shops) and say 'Here is my bag how much will you give me for it?'. I would refuse all the money they would give me and stick with my suitcase.

LV bag vs. Sony HD camera
We have a bet with Guru Hassinen that which will held it's value better my bag or his Sony HD digital camera and we will do a check 9 years from today. The camera is now down to 400€, bought new (after one year) and my bag is still the same price, a used camera must be around -50%. For a used bag, I do not know, I did not find anyone wanting to sell theirs. I for sure, will not.

Go Custom
Since LV is the company for making trunks and luggage, you can also get a custom order to fill in your needs if you want to transport some especially valuable things, or just customize some existing product. I personally would love to have a suitcase that can held a my MacBook Pro, iPhone, E-serie nokia, two Mont Blancs, a place to put my wallet and business cards and an A4 notebook. All this so that it uses the minimal space and still has a hard case... Maybe some day I will visit LV Helsinki with my wishes.

Some facts you might not know about Vuitton
- they never give discount (the more you buy the more you pay)
- they do not have any season sales
- they own their own shops and do not use re-sellers (with of course a few exceptions)
- they employ over 13 700 people (2007)
- 1% of the LV monogram products around there you see are genuine, the other 99% are fakes
- Damier Canvas was done before the now famous LV monogram
- a Vuitton neverfull bag is tested to stand weights of 230kg (if you fill the bag with gold it will still not brake it)

How a LV business card holder is used
Yes, it has something more to it than just a pocket for your business cards. And no I was not smart enough myself to know this, I was told. :)

- Here you put the cards you've received
- You keep your own business cards in the big space
- Here you keep your personal business card, the person getting this is a very special person to the giver

Some things I would not buy from LV are watches. Although they are nice and LV makes them with Zenith (also a brand owned by LVMH) in Switzerland, LV is not a watch brand and for the 2k you can get a nice Omega or use it as a deposit for a Kaukoranta or Patek timepiece.

Btv. LV has the best flash site I've ever seen. I generally hate sites that are done totally by flash, since they are horrible to use as people cut corners. LV has the money and they nailed it. From the web sites I suggest you pretend to be a UK visitor (in case you're from Finland or some other country that is not listed there) since then you also get access to the e-shop and get to see all of the new good stuff and prices. LV has one of the best web sites ever made!!!

I love the advertisement of LV, they do not use any of these 25-year old one-hit-movie-one-nude-pic persons, only the ones with history, like Sir Sean Connery. For bands they don't use one-hit-wonders, they use Keith Richards (who has been around for like 300-years). Last and definitely not least, the Nobel peace price winner Mihail Gorbatšov (I can't wait to see Martti Ahtisaari in an LV ad). Now the latest one has the astronauts that were on the moon 40 years ago telling their story... I just love how they do these!

"Is it real?" is the first question
That is the first thing "normal" people ask when they see something from LV. My girlfriend gets this question more often than I do (wonder why?).

LV is the most counterfeited brand it the world. I personally do not understand why you would buy a lookalike without the quality just to show off. I can easily spot a fake miles away (and then you will look really stupid). The easiest way is to look at what else the person is wearing... And rather than wasting your money on a fake, buy something with quality that you can afford... And if you bought your own Vuitton item from an internet auction it probably is fake, since (once again) you can only buy LV stuff from LV shops, or trough their own website (not available in Finland).
Buy fake, and you're a fake. Looooooooooser.

Last words
You might have noticed that I do have quite a lot of passion for the LV brand, but I love brands that have over 150 years of history.

I hope this helped you in understanding the world of LV and the reasons behind the prices.

Pls. send comments.