Louis Vuitton puts on its sneakers – The investment and the new era – 2024-08-15 22:06:58

Whether it was the Moët champagne served to celebrate a victory, or the specially designed trunks created by Louis Vuitton for the medal ceremonies, luxury was on full display at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

For Carly Duguid, creative director for tennis and fashion star Naomi Osaka, luxury fashion and sports are the perfect combination.

“There is a strong parallel between athletes and brands in terms of their commitment to quality and excellence,” Duguid told CNBC.

How influencers influence

In the age of influencers, fashion quickly embraced the sports world and highlighted athletes as “fashion tastemakers”. These global stars help connect brands with a whole new market of fans and potential new buyers.

Osaka was the first athlete to partner with Louis Vuitton, whose roster now includes Victor Wembanyama, Carlos Alcaraz and many French Olympians and Paralympians.

LVMH is not alone. Gucci has an ambassador partnership with British footballer Jack Grealish and placed billboards across cities with Italian tennis champion Jannik Skinner. In the 2024 WNBA draft, Caitlin Clark was the first professional basketball player ever to be dressed by Prada and continues to wear the house’s classics all season long. Dozens of luxury designers dressed the national teams for the opening ceremony for the first time, marking not only new links between sport and fashion, but also between sport and the Olympics.

LVMH has sought to take a big step beyond sports partnerships by becoming the first luxury brand to sponsor the Olympics.

The investment of Louis Vuitton

The roughly $160 million investment, which represents nearly 1% of LVMH’s 2023 earnings as the parent company of brands such as Celine, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Sephora and Dom Perignon, provided luxury touchpoints at the Games, from the medals designed by Chaumet to the French athletes wearing clothing designed by Berluti at the opening ceremony and the medal bearers wearing vintage-style uniforms, distinctly French LVMH.

Linking up with the world’s top sporting events could give LVMH a boost as overall luxury spending slows.

Loss of targets

LVMH missed its second-quarter sales and revenue targets, and the luxury sector is reeling more broadly as global demand falls, largely due to increased economic volatility and a shrinking market for “aspirational” consumers – young people, who they prefer to choose luxury for the first time.

Milton Pedraza, chief executive of luxury industry consultancy The Luxury Institute, said that new potential buyers, rather than buying a “no-name belt”, will see the athletes at the Olympics surrounded by LVMH’s branding and they will pursue these luxury items.

Luxury brands were once primarily concerned with the most expensive and exclusive sports, such as tennis and sailing, but now sell what Pedraza calls “inclusiveness with exclusivity.”

“Today, because many of the rising rich are athletes, actors, social media influencers, there is much more [ιδέα ότι] regardless of race, religion, gender, or whatever background you happen to have, you too can partake in luxury if you acquire the financial…fluency,” said Pedraza.

A new era of luxury in sports?

LVMH has given the world games a classic French glamor since the opening ceremony, but the brand’s reach goes far beyond French culture.

“Sports, luxury and fashion bring us together… Common culture is the goal to make sure luxury brands… expand,” Pedraza said.

The night before the opening ceremony, Osaka attended a party full of stars and athletes at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in the heart of Paris alongside Lebron James and Serena Williams, as well as actors, artists and other business moguls wearing pieces from LVMH brands.

Duguid called it “the perfect opportunity for the athletes to show off and support their partnerships with LVMH while celebrating the start of the Games.”

Source: ot.gr