Bags of style: Louis Vuitton arrives in Helsinki

French fashion and leather goods brand was stalking a suitable outlet location for years

print this

By Pauliina Pulkkinen
     
      It started last summer, on the online discussion forums.
      The rumour went around that the French luxury goods firm Louis Vuitton, famed for its bags carried and advertised by the good and great from Keith Richards to Catherine Deneuve to Mihail Gorbachev, was going to open up a store in Helsinki.
      By August, the posters on the boards knew to tell where it would be: on the corner of Mikonkatu and Esplanadi, because that was the only store location where Louis Vuitton wanted to hang its distinctive sign.
      The rumours proved true, in all respects.
     
“Four or five years ago, we decided that we wanted to open a store in Helsinki. We’d have done it sooner, but the process always takes its own time. We specifically wanted those premises on the corner of Esplanadi and Mikonkatu with the big display windows, and it took a while to bring the negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion”, says Jean-Marc Gallot , President, Louis Vuitton Europe.
      According to Gallot, LV made a thorough study of the Finnish market, Helsinki, and the Finns before deciding to put down roots here.
      It became clear that the Finns are a serious lot who appreciate traditions, purity of line, and authentic items. This is not a nation where people want to show off with a lot of bling, so they say, but one that has a yen for durable products.
     
Helsinki is also enough of a cosmopolitan city these days, and Finland and the Finns have prospered to the point where there will be enough takers for bags that can cost hundreds, even thousands of euros.
      “We learned that Finns buy a lot of our bags when travelling in other parts of Europe. Why should we not open a store here in Finland, so that they wouldn’t have to fly off elsewhere to buy them?” says Gallot.
     
Dozens of models will be on sale at the Finnish store, including some unique pieces. The prices vary from EUR 150 to EUR 4,000.
      All Louis Vuitton items, whether bags, trunks, fashion accessories, or prêt-à-porter are handmade from start to finish, just as they have been for the past 150 years.
      A large slice of the price comes from the brand itself, which is one of the best-known in Europe.
      “We believe that there will be buyers for all our lines here in Finland. The Finns are genuine people who appreciate the sort of quality that we represent”, Gallot goes on.
     
And even if the contents of one’s wallet might not run to a EUR 2,000 bag, Gallot invites the Finns to step into the store to enjoy a taste of the sort of luxury that you do not find anywhere else in the city.
      According to the President, LV is the first luxury brand to open a dedicated store in the capital. A good many other brands are on sale in boutiques and department stores hereabouts, but not in their own outlets.
      “I have the feeling that we will not be alone in this respect any more in a year or two. We have noticed that where we go, others tend to follow”, says Gallot.
     
In 2007, LV produced all-time record sales.
      Nevertheless, there are also clouds on the horizon of the luxury brand.
      The battle against counterfeiting and piratism takes up more time and resources from one year to the next.
      Louis Vuitton has dozens of anti-counterfeiting lawyers and investigation agencies stationed around the world on the lookout for knock-offs and copies, and pursuing court actions against the pirates.
      For all that, the lucrative counterfeiting business - and the LV monogram logo is one of the most popular victims in the shady global trade - shows no signs of being snuffed out.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.4.2008

More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: From malletier workshop to luxury goods emporium

Links:
  Pictures from the Helsinki store, on the Taloussanomat website
  Louis Vuitton website

PAULIINA PULKKINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
pauliina.pulkkinen@hs.fi