An Affirmation from Louis Vuitton Beauty

by Jessel Brizan | VALSAYN, Trinidad and Tobago | March 20, 2025

 

It is no secret my disdain for my educational experience at the University of Westminster (UoW), particularly the Fashion Business Management MA programme. Although I was conferred with a Master of Arts in Fashion Business Management with Merit, I failed to achieve the mission. Or rather, I was hindered in achieving the mission. You see, given my usually high expectations of myself, the goal was to graduate with a distinction.

Please keep in mind that my aim for applying for a Chevening Scholarship to pursue further education in the UK was to enhance my personal and career growth and development, not to become an academic writer. Needless to say, falling short of the prospect of working with established or emerging fashion brands as highlighted on UoW's website, I feel robbed of a potentially enriching and rewarding experience. It is a distinct difference between a lecturer and an educator. Save for one educator, thank God I did not have to pay for that one-year lecture series.

At the commencement of the second semester, I was present in body but absent in mind and spirit. This as a result of what I deem inconsistent grading practices and irrational feedback on assessments accrued from the first semester. As someone with a natural love for learning, for the first time in my educational career, I became despondent with what I perceive as failed expectations for an immersive educational experience in one of the four major fashion capitals.

“On March 5, 2025, LV announced the launch of La Beauté Louis Vuitton, marking the brand’s expansion into the beauty sector.”

Which brings me to the meat of the matter. The following is but one of the many affirmations of my absolute discontent with the Fashion Business Management MA programme at UoW.

During the first semester, for the ‘Strategic Fashion Business Management’ module, we were tasked with the following:

Scenario:

  • You are asked to engage with the LVMH case study and conduct further research on a brand of your choice from the LVMH portfolio.

  • Choose from fashion, accessories, jewellery but NOT wines & spirits or selective retailing.

  • You will analyse how the brand sits within the LVMH portfolio and how it has been parented by the conglomerate.

  • You will then proceed to perform an external and competitor analysis, an internal analysis of the brand, and consider the impact of the pandemic. In the last part you must formulate future strategy recommendations for the brand (next 5 years).

  • You will use theory models to support your analysis in each section of your report. For the recommendations, you will apply the Ansoff’s Matrix as a minimum and perform a SWOT analysis (optionally TOWS analysis) of your chosen brand. You can include a visual timeline with dates for specific strategic steps.

  • All writing must be based on high-quality academic research (i.e. library research), supported by facts, numbers and credible references. You must use data from the case study, as well as information such as the annual reports of LVMH and your brand, census and market data, statistics and recent data. Trivial sources of information will not be accepted.

  • You must also include an appendix with the content of your assessment 1 that will demonstrate how you developed your proposal into the final report.

  • The report must be referenced throughout in the Harvard referencing method with a final alphabetical reference list. Insufficient referencing or plagiarism will reduce marks substantially.

I selected Louis Vuitton (LV) as my LVMH brand, at the time regarded as the most valuable luxury brand in the world and the second most valuable apparel brand in the world with a valuation of US$26.3 billion only behind Nike. I believe no company, regardless of size, global brand value, recognition, and market share is above reproach. Despite its ‘mega brand’ status and being under the powerful LVMH umbrella, I took it as a challenge to formulate a strategy that I believe was in keeping with the LV brand.

In accordance with the stipulations of the assessment, I applied Ansoff’s Matrix (as lectured) in developing a 5-year strategic innovation plan for LV, exploring areas with high potential for innovation, competitive advantage, and growth and profitability, including prioritising sustainability and circular economy, product development, market development, and diversification. Having surveyed the LV landscape, beauty and hotels were noticeably absent from its luxury portfolio. Given the global trends, it only made sense to explore these sectors. Based on my extensive market research and analysis, I developed an innovative strategy encompassing four key areas:

  1. Prioritising sustainability and circular economy

  2. Accessible luxury line

  3. Beauty and Personal Care Market

  4. Travel and Tourism / Hotels.

The following is an excerpt from the chapter ‘Future Strategy’. It features my LV product development strategy (the second quadrant of Ansoff's Matrix mentioned in my report) for the Beauty and Personal Care Market. You can view my final report submitted on January 1, 2024 by clicking on the following link:

https://www.calameo.com/read/0032695845d465501d45b

Beauty and Personal Care Market

The Beauty & Personal Care market is defined “as consumer goods for cosmetics and body care” and encompasses beauty cosmetics for the face, lips, skin care products, fragrances and personal care products such as hair care, deodorants and shaving products (Statista, 2023a).

The global market generated US$625.70bn in revenue in 2023 with online sales responsible for 17.7% of total revenue (Statista, 2023a). With a projected annual growth rate of 3.32% (CAGR 2023-2028), global beauty & personal care revenue is projected to reach US$736.79 billion by 2028 (Statista, 2023a).

The luxury goods market for beauty & personal care consists of five sub-segments, including Beauty Tech, Cosmetics, Fragrances, Personal Care, and Skin Care, with the personal care segment accounting for the market’s largest segment with US$258.9 billion in revenue in 2023 (Statista, 2023a).

According to a recent report from FARFETCH, consumers are increasingly demanding that the fashion industry be more socially and environmentally conscious corresponding to a substantial increase in the demand for sustainable fashion and beauty products underscored by a 10% higher conversion rate on the online luxury platform for sustainable products compared to all other product categories (Rauturier, 2023; FARFETCH, 2022).

With major brands such as Parfums Christian Dior, Parfums Givenchy, Guerlain, STELLA, Acqua di Parma, Fenty Beauty, and KVD Beauty under its umbrella, LVMH is a major player in the highly competitive global beauty and cosmetics industry.

As a complement to its existing fragrances offerings, LV is well aligned to leverage the heritage, experience and infrastructure of its parent and fellow Houses to explore a product development strategy over the next twelve to twenty-four months focused on penetrating the beauty and personal care industry by creating a range of sustainable, differentiated luxury products infused with the brand’s core values allowing LV to further augment its competitive advantage, and growth and profitability.

Again, being that LV does not require a substantial capital investment in marketing and advertising (Mitterfellner, 2023, pp68) given its global brand value and awareness, and cultural cache, the brand can appeal to its core consumers and younger target markets such as Gen-Z and millennials, and create meaningful connections by utilising emotional brand marketing and creative storytelling.

For my professional, industry-standard report replete with in-depth research and analysis, I received a final grade of 63 out of 100, which equates to a merit. The following represents, verbatim, the general comments from the lecturers responsible for assessing and grading the report.

Breadth

You have used a range of credible sources to support your report with substantial information.

Critical Analysis

You have presented some valid points for your analysis. PESTLE analysis and the VRIO framework are used to analyse the external and internal environments. But you have failed to apply Porters' 5 and the value chain for further analysis of both. Although this has good insight into the brand and valid points for your analysis, critical discussions around it are lacking in this report. There is a good analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the brand. SWOT has been done well and you have then derived at Ansoffs matrix for future growth strategy. However, which quadrant of it are you focusing on? The positioning strategy map has no valid discussion around it with a focus on one chosen strategy.

Coherence and Relevance:

The report has a good structure but you would need to synthesize information to ensure your analysis is clear, can be understood and coherent. The fact that you have analysed the internal and external environments and then arriving at the SWOT demonstrates your understanding of the application of strategy. Although the Ansoff is used at the end which is correct, you have not focused on one quadrant to identify a growth opportunity. You have explained all 4 areas for growth which is not what was required. Relevant strategies with a focus on one growth opportunity that reflects your analysis are not evident. A timeline has been applied however, it focuses on too many opportunities including product development and diversification. These are very different strategies and need careful consideration of action strategies to execute them.

Document & Presentation

Your report is presented to an excellent standard. The layout and visuals are at a very high professional standard. Beautiful document! Referencing needs to be included for images, charts and graphs.

Language

You have used good language to write the report, although some areas have minor errors. Some sentences are too long, Consider writing concise sentences eliminating unwanted words to make your report easy to read and understand. Your conclusion is not very clear as it does not outline one specific growth opportunity applied via the Ansoff matrix that is relevant to the brand. The recommended strategies are diverse and do not have a focus on one pathway. The appendix has the proposal mind map and outline of the strategy but the complete proposal is not attached.

  • Please note the contradictions in the general comments.

  • Please note that I fulfilled all the criteria of the assessment.

  • Please note that the assessment criteria do not specify a focus on one growth opportunity.

  • Please note that my future strategy clearly indicates the relevant quadrants of Ansoff’s Matrix.

  • Please note that the general comments included feedback on criteria that were not originally included in the assessment brief.

In retrospect, it is noteworthy that students who engaged in excessive efforts beyond the requirements were often rewarded with higher grades. However, I was chastised when I delivered professional, industry-quality work imbued with in-depth research, analysis and strategic foresight.

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Roman 12:19, KJV).

On March 5, 2025, LV announced the launch of La Beauté Louis Vuitton, marking the brand's expansion into the beauty sector and reflecting its commitment to broadening its creative cache. The new line aims to make a significant contribution to the beauty industry, transcending traditional product offerings and establishing a lasting presence in the market.

https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/make-up/a64046470/louis-vuitton-beauty/

Business, IndustryJessel BrizanJessel Brizan, jessel brizan design group, Louis VuittonComment