LVMH opened a Louis Vuitton jewellery store on Paris’s Place Vendome , hoping to tap in to a fast-growing market for expensive baubles and expand the brand’s image beyond leather goods and fashion.
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The move towards jewellery allows the French brand - best known for handbags and frocks by chief designer Marc Jacobs - to capture a market that some consultants believe is set to grow faster than other luxury segments.
“The store and the workshop are an important step, a foundational decision, indicating that we look ahead with optimism,” said Hamdi Chatti, director of jewellery and watches for Louis Vuitton.
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The global jewellery market is worth about 40 billion euros , strategy consultants Roland Berger suggest. A recent study by Bain indicates that the market could grow by 10 percent a year until 2014, faster than either apparel or perfume and cosmetics.
The new Paris store will sell both mid-range items, from as little as 650 euros, to diamond and sapphire-encrusted necklaces and rings that can sell for millions.
Like Richemont’s Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis Vuitton will design high-end jewellery on the premises, both in a series of collections and as made-to-measure pieces.
