From Penniless to Filthy Rich: Meet the Inspiring Visionary Behind a $427.8 Billion Luxury Empire
Today it’s counted as the world’s number one brand of extravagant goods
Most people think of the stagecoach as a U.S. thing and associate it with Western movies, especially those with cowboys and Indians.
Those coaches would travel long distances, making stops, which were called stages, along the way. At each stage, passengers could buy a thirst quenching drink, or put food in their empty stomachs.
While they were doing that, the horses that pulled the coaches would be changed out for fresh ones. And then it was time to re-board the coach to get to your final destination.
But here’s what you might not realize … stagecoaches weren’t just a U.S. thing.
The truth is the stagecoach was introduced in London during the middle part of the 1600. And it was the predominant form of getting from here to there.
Then 20 years later it would show up in Paris.
But Parisians had a special name for this new type of vehicle … the fiacre, named for the Hôtel Saint-Fiacre, where it was introduced in the 1640s.
They were boxlike, four-wheeled, open-hooded vehicles that were drawn by three horses. Traveling on a fiacre was the best way for passengers to avoid the muddy Parisian streets.
French socialites such as Madam Recamier, who happened to own a salon that was frequented by important political and literary figures of the 19th century used a fiacre to get around the city.
She gained her upper echelon status when she married one of the France’s premier bankers. And many heads of banking were in direct opposition to the financial rules imposed by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, including her husband.
Those rules and regulations actually cost him his business. And in 1805, Madam Recamier along with her husband were exiled from France by Napoleon himself.
Yet it wasn’t just the upper class of France who traveled on fiacres. The famous wax sculptor Madam Tussaud, as well as Jean-Baptiste Carrier were also frequent passengers.
As more people enjoyed riding throughout Paris in a fiacre, new models were developed to accommodate the growing demand. One such model was called the diligence. It was big enough to hold up to 16 people and operated an exclusive line between Paris and Lyon.
The diligence was able to carry lots of luggage, which was usually stored at the front or back in a container called “the boot.” Sometimes it was also stored in a compartment located on the roof, which was referred to as an imperial.
The luggage carried was either cloth and leather bags or trunks made of wood. And those wooden trunks were designed with dome-shaped lids, which allowed rain and mud to easily roll off.
Just imagine Dear Reader how traveling in a stagecoach would have felt … with no paved roads to ease the bouncing around from the bumps and rocks on paths carved in the dirt.
And if riding in a stagecoach was hard on a passenger, it was also rough on the luggage that often got damaged or fell off altogether.
But what if there were a better way to store that luggage … one that held up no matter how many bumps in the road?
In this issue, I’m going to introduce you to a visionary young man who dreamt up “just one good idea” that made the luggage he designed become the most desired brand of all time.
Walking Your Way in the World
On November 11, 1830, something remarkable happened … a train was used to deliver passengers and goods between Liverpool and Manchester England.
Traveling by train became so popular that by 1840, stagecoaches were withdrawn from service.
This didn’t just happen in England; the same thing was occurring in France as well.
In fact on Saturday, August 26, 1837, the first passenger railroad line was inaugurated in Paris. The line was 12 miles long and ran from the capital to the Le Pecq station located in the northern part of the country.
As you can imagine, riding in a train was much smoother and more enjoyable than in a stagecoach. It was also easier on luggage too.
While the luggage was less susceptible to damage, a few new problems arouse …
It was bulky and took up lots of space
Took too much time being loaded on the train.
By the way most of the bags were made by trained artisans who knew how to transform wood, brass, and leather into luggage.
One man in particular, master box maker and packer Romain Maréchal was known for crafting some of the most durable luggage available in Paris. And it was considered an honor to apprentice under him.
At the age of 16, a young boy named Louis found himself lucky enough to do just that.
He was the son of Xavier and Coronne Vuitton.
Louis was born in Anchay, a small remote village in the mountainous region of eastern France. He was one of six children. His father was a farmer, and his mother a milliner, which means she marked and cut out patterns for making hats.
They were a working class family and enjoyed their life together until February 16, 1831. That’s the day his mother died. Louis was just ten years old.
One year later, his father remarried to Marie Rochet.
But Louis wasn’t happy with his father’s decision. He considered Marie to be too strict of a parent. And so in 1835 at the age of 13, Louis decided to leave his family home for good.
And what a journey he would take. He intended to make a life for himself in Paris. But since he was now penniless, the only way for him to get there was to go on foot.
His walk to Paris would encompass 249 miles and take over two years. Along the way, he picked up a series of odd jobs to help feed and clothe himself.
Louis finally arrived in Paris in 1837 just as he was turning 16. And by sheer coincident or some kind of divine intervention, Louis managed to impress Romain Maréchal enough that he took the young lad in as an apprentice.
Making Luggage Great Good Again
Louis was an exceptional apprentice. He watched, listened, and took in every bit of guidance Monsieur Maréchal offered.
Maréchal’s customer list was made up of mostly French socialites, elites, and noble families. And soon Louis’ box work was getting noticed by these wealthy people.
One person who was particularly fond of Louis’ work was Eugénie de Montijo, who just happened to be married to Napoleon.
In fact the Empress was so taken by the products Louis made that in 1853 Napoleon appointed him as her layetier. He was now her personal box maker and packer for whenever she traveled.
Little did he realize that this would become a pivotal moment in his career and life. Working for the Empress, Louis gained personal knowledge of what wealthy people expected when purchasing personal items such as luggage.
This also taught him how to make luggage that not only looked good but lasted for a very long time.
And with this experience, in 1854 Louis Vuitton left Maréchal’s workshop to open one of his own. That same year he married his longtime girlfriend, Clemence-Emilie Parriaux.
Four years later in 1858, Louis created a new kind of trunk that in many ways revolutionized the luggage industry while solving two of its biggest problems – too bulky and too much space.
What he did was create a rectangular-shaped trunk with a flat lid. This allowed luggage to be stacked on top of one another when loaded onto trains or steamships.
He also replaced the leather, which was heavy and often cracked, with lightweight wood covered in Trianon gray canvas, a fabric Vuitton designed to be waterproof and stain resistant.
It’s exactly the kind of luggage that was needed at the time and so demand soared. With a growing customer base, Louis moved his workshop to a larger space in Asnières, a village northwest of Paris.
The spot was perfect because it was located on the Seine River and also near a railway line. This allowed for convenient river and rail transport of finished products as well as the delivery of raw materials to his workshop.
Louis could now make his trunks as fast as demand came in. His business was becoming well known throughout France.
Setbacks and Steps Forward
Demand for the flat top trunks continued to grow until 1870. That’s when the Franco-Prussian War began. Lasting from July 19, 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which the northern German Confederation resisted.
The war paralyzed travel and consequently lessened the demand for luggage. Suddenly his shop, which at been doing quite well was now experiencing a rapid slowdown in sales.
But a declining business was not all that happened to poor Louis.
His workshop was ransacked, and its equipment was stolen or destroyed. Everything he had worked hard to create was gone.
But Louis was full of determination. When the war ended, he focused on rebuilding his luggage company. But instead of staying in Asnières, he moved his business and family to Paris where he opened a shop in a prestigious location close to the Opéra Garnier and the Louvre.
He continued to create new signature canvas designs for his trunks. For instance in 1872 he debuted a canvas of red and beige stripes, which stood out from all other types of luggage designs.
Then in 1876 he released a striped canvas in beige and brown. Two years after that, he released the now iconic Damier design, which featured a checkerboard pattern of red and white or of beige and brown.
Louis Vuitton luggage was becoming “all the rage” in Paris. Louis was making a name for himself, and his list of clientele was continually growing.
But this created a bit of a problem. You see, when a product you create gets super successful, other companies will want to copy your work. And so other trunk manufacturers began making “knock off” pieces of luggage that resembled the trunks Louis made.
To curb imitations of his work, Louis began stamping a brand identification on his trunks that read: marque L. Vuitton déposée (“registered L. Vuitton brand”). No other trunk maker had considered doing this … it was kind of a first in the industry.
Doing this was also a brilliant marketing tactic because customers wanted only the “real” Louis Vuitton luggage. So demand began to spike. And word of his branded luggage was spreading outside the boundaries of France.
In 1885 Louis opened a shop in London on Oxford Street. By this time his son George was oldest enough to join in on the family business. Just one year later, Louis along with his son George, developed the tumbler lock, which featured a single lock system with two spring buckles.
Georges Vuitton was so confident in the lock’s security that it’s rumored he challenged American magician Harry Houdini to escape from a locked Vuitton trunk. The showman, however, did not take up the challenge.
Becoming Louis Vuitton
The father and son team continued to expand their luggage empire. When Louis died in 1892, George assumed leadership of the business. Like his father, George had an instinct for showcasing their work.
For example, he exhibited Louis Vuitton luggage at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, which introduced the brand to the American market. And just like what happened in France and England, people fell in love with this luxury brand.
In 1896 George wanted to do something special to honor his father’s legacy. So created the now famous LV monogram. It featured interlocked “LV” initials in gold, alternating with diamond points and quatrefoil flowers on a chocolate brown canvas.
George not only applied the monogram to his line of trunks, but also smaller sized travel bags. This marked the company’s entrance into creating luxury handbags.
By the 20th century the Louis Vuitton brand had become synonymous with a luxury lifestyle. When George passed, the business was handed over to his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton. Gaston continued offering newly designed canvases and added more luxury goods to the lineup.
Eventually the business was passed onto Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s son-in-law, steel magnate Henry Racamier.
In 1987 Henry merged the company with Moët-Hennessy, the French champagne and cognac producer, creating LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. By 1990, however, Recamier had been ousted from the company in a hostile takeover by French businessman and investor Bernard Arnault, who became CEO.
By the 21st century, Arnault had grown LVMH into the largest luxury-products company in the world. And he expanded the business from trunks and bags to include a full fashion range featuring the work of top designers, including Marc Jacobs and Virgil Abloh.
Today, the company sits at number one in luxury brands and is worth $427 billion. Bernard Arnault remains as CEO and is the richest man in the world with a net worth of $233 billion.
Awesome Quotes by Awesome People
“I believe success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination.” - Zig Ziglar