Marketing report

Running head: MARKETING
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Marketing
Student Name
University Name
Date
MARKETING
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Table of Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Japan as an Attractive Market for Louis Vuitton …………………………………………………………………. 3
Global Brand Values of LV and its Relevance to Heritage …………………………………………………… 4
Unique Characteristics of Japanese Luxury customer ………………………………………………………….. 4
Media Habits of Audience ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
Importance of Physical Retail and E-commerce ………………………………………………………………….. 6
Potential Pitfalls ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Changes and Recommendations about ‘future-proofing’ marketing strategy of LV in Japan …….. 7
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
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Marketing
Introduction
Louis Vuitton is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1854. The products of
the company range from luxury trunks to sunglasses, accessories, jewelry, watches, and shoes.
Japan is the most attractive market for Louis Vuitton because of customer perceptions. The
company has sustained its simple designs, such as color patterns and classic logos. Due to this, the
global brand values of LV are connected to its heritage. Japanese consumers often equate foreign
luxury goods with high quality, and they also expect that luxury products will last for a long time.
So, LV is best in its product quality. It is recommended that LV adopt marketing strategies such
as using social media platforms to stay connected to Japanese customers. Therefore, the chief aim
of the report is to recommend Louis Vuitton about their marketing in Japan over the coming five
years.
Japan as an Attractive Market for Louis Vuitton
Japan is an attractive market for Louis Vuitton because of its stability, maturity, and size.
The Japanese apparel and fashion market is the largest market all over the world. Traditional
clothing has been an essential component of Japanese culture, and it has been adapting to Western
fashion trends. For Louis Vuitton, Japan has a large market backed by profitability and stability.
Numerous unexplored markets in Japan might deliver innovative avenues for further investment
and growth. The products of Louis Vuitton include luxury goods such as leather goods, luxury
bags, books, sunglasses, accessories, jewelry, and watches. There is a massive trend of luxury
brands in Japan, and Louis Vuitton is a successful luxury brand because of consistency,
exclusivity, quality, heritage, authenticity, and style. Customers in Japan are among the biggest
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spenders all over the world. So, Louis Vuitton should market products in Japan because of trending
luxury products.
Global Brand Values of LV and its Relevance to Heritage
The global brand value of Louis Vuitton is about 14.86 Billion US dollars from 2016 to
2021 (Louis Vuitton, 2021). The personality traits of Louis Vuitton include classy, comfortable,
subtle, and elegant. It cultivates within a person an entrepreneurial spirit while leaving behind the
symbol of traditionalism. Louis is the brand for those customers who like a fantastic blend of
history with modern innovativeness. The brand valuation of LV has featured in thirty-six brand
rankings comprising valuable and most substantial Apparel companies, global brands, and most
prominent bands in France.
Moreover, Louis Vuitton is relevant to heritage because the heritage of Louis Vuitton
started as a trunk maker that then proceeded to found the organization. The company creates a
narrative regarding leverages and history for marketing objectives. It uses the account to
communicate and market the products. Louis Vuitton was 16 when he came to Paris on foot and
then started apprenticing Monsieur Marechal (Louis Vuitton, 2021). The Monogram canvas of
Louis Vuitton is quite famous, as he invited designers to create unique products of luggage in
1996. The collection was then exhibited in great capitals worldwide while bringing the spirit of
collaboration and innovation of the brand to fashion lovers all over the world.
Unique Characteristics of Japanese Luxury customer
Japanese luxury customers are highly conscious of innovative kinds of products.
Consumers prioritize value, quality, reputation, trust, and brand over the cost. The customers like
a novelty in fashion products, as they shop from the brands that can be unique and new styles.
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They also like seasonal products and desire to pay a premium for availability. There are higher
quality standards of customers and the willingness to pay a premium for luxury goods. Firstly,
they focus on the country of origin and then give a broad definition of quality. There are higher
expectations of customers related to service and consider the package as a characteristic of a luxury
product (Nelson & Smith, 2021). The company also expects a warranty for various products and
then presumes faultless after-sales services. Japanese luxury consumers have relative cost
sensitivity and desire to pay cash for value.
Furthermore, the customers in Japan consider shopping as a hobby and also give value to
the experience of shopping as a whole. Because of being well-educated and having appropriate
wage levels, the customers of Japan have robust demand for luxury products. Japanese consumers
are majorly influenced by group-oriented culture, which demonstrates that Louis Vuitton can
exemplify the owner’s social status. Customers are inspired to pursue luxury goods to manifest
social recognition or to examine these goods as a necessity. They are also driven to beauty, and
their mindset deliberates customers’ buying habits. Females have a compulsory and immense
demand of having luxury goods. They trust that having luxury goods can make them wealthier or
gorgeous if they are not. In past years, young people might be extra cautious of buying luxury, so
more affluent and older people made massive contributions to increase sales in the Japanese luxury
market.
Media Habits of Audience
Fashion has altered since the advent of social media. People dictate trends improving as
compared to other brands. Customers have adopted and moved on from movements in the fashion
market swifter than earlier. Japanese customers used to purchase products online due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Most men and women go to jobs, so it is not easy for them to go to stores
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for shopping. They find it easy to purchase luxury products through online sources. Japanese
people are habitual to using social media apps, so Louis Vuitton must ensure an online presence
in Japan to enhance sales. This is the world of technology, and every person in Japan controls his
life by using cell phones (Paul, 2019). Offline media habits of customers include staying far from
the internet and getting knowledge about fashion trends updated by newspapers, magazines,
billboards, and commercials on television. So, people in Japan are habitual to both offline and
online media usage.
Importance of Physical Retail and E-commerce
Physical retail is essential, as it permits the company to stand out in a high rivalry industry
by designing an engaging and unique brand experience. It is capable of retailers submerging their
consumers in brand culture and creating an ever-lasting impression. Physical retail can also
decrease the price of returns, and the products bought in physical stores are less likely to be
returned than products purchased online (Kumar et al., 2020). It also permits owners to return or
exchange in-store products, as it can decrease the prices of returns by irradiating the transportation
and shipping fees for retailers. Moreover, e-commerce stores can widen the range of services or
products for sale, diversify sales, and then expand the business. The brand can reach a broader
audience and might have minimum operational prices.
Potential Pitfalls
There are various potential pitfalls in Japan, and they might get it wrong because Japan
frequently faces economic or environmental challenges. Louis Vuitton should decrease the
reliance of incomes on the Japanese market, and it would have to alter with modifications in market
and demand modifications (Dahanayaka, 2021). In Japan, Louis Vuitton should compete with costs
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while maintaining the quality of products. Consumers’ preferences in Japan might change, so it
can be a potential pitfall for Louis Vuitton. Japanese love luxury goods, and they also like to use
social media. Luxury products are the basic need of customers, and Louis Vuitton might not be
successful in fulfilling customers’ needs. The higher pricing strategy of Louis Vuitton might be a
pitfall because there should be low-priced products to ensure the best organizational culture.
Changes and Recommendations about ‘future-proofing’ marketing
strategy of LV in Japan
Wealthier families are growing in Japan, and they have more buying power. There is a
trend of ready-to-wear collections in Japan. Louis Vuitton should utilize value-based costing in
the marketing mix for luxury products. Consumers perceive the organization’s products as highly
valued products, as the consumers desire to pay the cash. Moreover, LV should ‘future-proof’ its
marketing strategy in Japan because various factors are changing. For instance, the Japanese luxury
market might become cyclical, and it might become the nature of the Japanese market to change
between periods of higher spending and fiscal preservation. It is recommended that Louis Vuitton
consider designs and quality of products and product manufacturing. Customer behavior is
changing in Japan, as there is compulsory social expression (Fujioka et al., 2018). The preference
is moving from grade to affordability, as luxury has become a commodity. LV must promote a
celebrity culture and utilize print ads in billboards and newspapers.
Conclusion
Concisely, Louis Vuitton is the leading organization dealing with sunglasses, jewelry,
shoes, watches, and ready to wear leather products. In Japan, there have been altering lifestyles,
the evolution of social media, changes in climate culture, and an exchange rate that should be
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focused on improving the marketing strategy of Louis Vuitton. The company is more focused on
promotions and services by utilizing distinct touchpoints and mediums. Louis Vuitton does not
ignore the upkeep and care required to secure its brand. The company should focus on advertising
and promotions by using newspapers and magazines.
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References
Dahanayaka, M. P. D. (2021). Visual Merchandising, Price Premium and Ethnocentrism
Marketing Strategies Adopting by Various Industries for Local and International
Context. Price Premium and Ethnocentrism Marketing Strategies Adopting by Various
Industries for Local and International Context (November 7, 2021).
louisvuitton. (2021). A LEGENDARY HISTORY. Retrieved from louisvuitton:
https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/magazine/articles/a-legendary-history#
louisvuitton. (2021). LV VOLT COLLECTION. Retrieved from louisvuitton:
https://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/stories/volt-fine-jewelry#
Nelson, S., & Smith, T. (2021). A Comparative Analysis of Japanese, Mexican and English
Marketing Practices: Examining the Influence of Culture on Marketing. Journal of
Student Research, 10(3).
Fujioka, R., Li, Z., & Kaneko, Y. (2018). The democratisation of luxury and the expansion of the
Japanese market, 1960–2010. In Global Luxury (pp. 133-156). Palgrave, Singapore.
Kumar, A., Paul, J., & Unnithan, A. B. (2020). ‘Masstige’marketing: A review, synthesis and
research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 113, 384-398.
Paul, J. (2019). Masstige model and measure for brand management. European Management
Journal, 37(3), 299-312.
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