Everyone wants make to money very fast but have you ever wondered; how did the rich and famous get there? How do I get there? it probably skipped your mind. well, it’s not too late to think about it now, but first, lets see how Louis Vuitton made it
By now we should all know that Louis Vuitton was a French entrepreneur and designer whose name has gone world-wide, In fact, he is a great icon in the fashion world.
HIS STRUGGLES
As legend has it, louis ran away from home at the age of 13 by foot, bound for paris because he could not endure the wicked way his stepmother treated him any more and he was also bored by the provincial life he lived in Anchay. He travelled for more than 2 years –more than 2 good years by foot..OMG. Along the way, he took odd jobs to feed himself and stayed anywhere as far as it provided shelter -the kid was determined.
THE BREAK THROUGH
He arrived at paris in 1837 at the age of 16. louis was taken in as an apprentice at the workshop of monsieur marechal, a successful box maker and packer. It took this teenager few years to stake out a reputation among paris’ fashionable class as one of the city’s premier practitioners in his new craft.
In 1852, the wife of Napoleon III, Eugenie de montijo, hired him as her personal box maker and packer which opened so many doors for him as the class of elite and royal clients sought his services.
THE RISE OF THE ENTREPRENUER
On April 22, 1854 Louis got married. Shortly after his marriage, he opened his own box making and packing workshop in Paris. In 1858, he introduced stack-able trunks and those trunks proved an immediate commercial success as there was an increasing demand for Louis Vuitton trunks.
In order to fulfill the requests placed on his luggage, he expanded into a larger workshop in Asnieres in 1859. Louis also received personal orders from so many other French royalties and Isma’il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt. Waw… business was booming.
ANOTHER MISFORTUNE
In 1870, Louis business got interrupted by the bloody civil war that destroyed the French empire. The war finally ended on January 28,1871, so louis returned to Asnieres to find his village in ruins, his staffs dispersed, his equipments stolen and his workshop destroyed. We thought this was the end but-
HE ROSE AGAIN
Louis was determined to restore his business and he did. Within months, he had built a new shop at a new address, 1 rue scribe. He did not just change his address, he had a new goal, a new focus, which was LUXURY.
In 1872, Louis introduced a new trunk design which featured beige canvas and red design. This simple yet luxurious design appealed to the new paris elites and that marked the beginning of louis vuitton as a luxurious brand
20 years later, louis continued to operate from the same work shop, innovating hig quality, luxury luggage.
THE DEATH OF AN ICON
Later in 1892, On february 27, at the age of 70, Louis died but that was not the end of his legacy, His son, Georges, who created the famous LV monogram, took over knowing that louis vuitton would grow into the worlds renowned luxury leather and lifestyle brand it is today.
