How Does Louis Vuitton Market and Sell Their Perfume?

 by George Cuthbert

Preface: Louis Vuitton has remained at the forefront of the fashion industry for decades, known for their high-end leather goods, sublime watches and jewellery and most of all, their signature monogram canvas print. Their innovation and exclusivity has allowed Louis Vuitton to successfully appeal to their target audience through the employment of successful marketing campaigns, a strong digital presence and iconic collaborations. Despite this however, many see the luxury brand simply as an excuse to overcharge for mediocre fashion and view their products as tacky and overexposed.

Louis Vuitton’s often overlooked fragrances began selling in 2016 for the first time after a hiatus of over 70 years and currently consist of over 30 different fragrances with prices ranging from £255 to £1,220 per 100ml. Despite this extortionate price tag however, these perfumes have proven to be lucrative and generate over 80 million euros for the company annually.  The question then arises: are these fragrances truly worth their extortionate price tag?

To start, it’s important to understand why Louis Vuitton prices their products very highly. Their pricing system revolves around employing a skimming pricing strategy in which high initial prices are set and maintained all the while other competitors may enter the market. This is done to safeguard their luxurious status, ensure their products retain their value over time and to appeal to their customers who value exclusively. Another factor contributing to the steep pricing is particular ingredients put into the perfumes. Where other brands make use of synthetic ingredients to create their scents, designer perfumes, much like that of Louis Vuitton, are composed only of pure and natural ingredients which can be incredibly difficult and therefore expensive to obtain. Some examples of such ingredients are oud which is produced when an agar tree becomes infested with a type of mould called “Phialophora parasitica” which results in roughly 2 percent of these trees producing oud, and saffron which is made from the saffron crocus’ stigma where only 0.006 grams of saffron is produced for every flower harvested.

Justifying the high price alone is insufficient; effective marketing also plays a pivotal role in driving consumer interest. Advertisements are used as a means to spread awareness of these perfumes and a prominent technique which can be found in these advertisements is the employment of the formal elements (line, shape, space, form, tone, texture, pattern, colour, composition) to underscore both the scent which Louis Vuitton are trying to convey and the assorted emotions which this scent will invoke. These ads are often featured in magazines (e.g. Vogue, Cosmopolitan, GQ) and are printed with a glossy finish to enhance the visual appeal and convey a sense of luxury. Finally, within Louis Vuitton stores, elaborate and interactive displays are curated to allow shoppers to not only try the perfumes but also establish a personal connection with the product, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.