Louis Vuitton is the No.1 luxury brand in
the world — valued at over $30 billion. Its history dates back to the 19th
century and begins with a homeless teenager who could only dream of success. With no money or food, he worked
odd jobs with artisans and craftsmen to survive, barely making any money
but learned valuable skills that led to pioneering modern luggage and
creating a billion-dollar empire. In the 19th century, Louis Vuitton
was born and raised in Anchay, France, to a farmer and hat-maker. During that time, France was still
recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, and many farmers, including
the Vuittons, faced bankruptcy. Starting from a young age, Louis had no
choice but to work on the family farm. From dusk to dawn, he planted
and harvested crops, raised the animals, and stockpiled firewood. When Louis turned 10, life
became even more difficult. His mother passed away, and soon
after, his father remarried. Louis’ stepmother was as wicked
as the villains in fairy tales. She made Louis’ life miserable,
and eventually, he had enough. After Louis turned 13, he quietly
slipped away from the farmhouse and headed to Paris — with no money or food. Fortunately, Louis found odd
jobs with artisans and craftsmen who taught him how to work with
metal, stone, fabrics, and wood. Still, he had no money leftover
for shelter and became homeless. He often slept in the woods with
only a cloak to keep him warm. At the time, the first railway
line to Paris had just opened. Travel became more accessible,
and the industry started to boom. Craftsmen capitalized on this by
making custom boxes for aristocrats. They often travelled with paintings,
instruments, and furniture, and needed boxes that could
fit and withstand long trips. They also needed help with packing
their belongings in a certain way to protect them from breaking. Since Louis learned some of the skills
involved on his way to Paris, he decided to try and find work in the trade. Fortunately, a craftsman named Monsieur
Maréchal hired Louis as an apprentice. While Louis didn’t earn much,
his willingness to learn paid off in more ways than one. He became a favorite
amongst Maréchal’s clients. And later, the Empress of France
appointed him as her personal box-maker. After working for the Empress
for a year, Louis became more in-demand and opened his first shop. Early on, Louis came up with
ideas for new products that changed the industry standard. At the time, traditional boxes were made
with leather and were rectangular-shaped. The lids were dome so that water
would run off the top instead of soaking through the leather. This made the boxes impossible to
stack and time-consuming to load. To tackle these problems,
Louis experimented with new materials and settled on canvas. When compared to leather,
canvas was lighter, durable, and more water-resistant. This allowed boxes to have simple,
flat lids — making them possible to stack and easier to load. And while waterproofing
compounds made the color grey, it looked more clean and modern. Using canvas material,
Louis created a slat trunk. His new product marked the
birth of modern luggage. While customers were skeptical of
its advantages, it took off within two years and became known as an
elegant and must-have accessory. Afterwards, Louis set out to do the same
thing with a new invention: handbags. At the time, handbags were
not embraced by society. Many people complained that
they were inelegant, bulky, and would cause injuries to women. Still, Louis believed that
handbags had potential and started making them with canvas. They immediately took off and created
the demand for more styles so that women could pair them with different outfits. Eventually, Louis could not keep up and
enlisted help from his son, Georges. Like his father, Georges came up with new
ideas that changed the industry standard. He created a tumbler lock that
turned trunks into treasure chests and prevented theft. Up until then, most trunks had
locks that could be easily picked. The family’s products
became even more desirable. But soon after, production came to a halt. A war erupted and destroyed the business
— making Louis homeless for a second time. At the height of Louis’ business,
the Franco-Prussian war erupted. Louis and his family were forced to
leave their home and workshop in Asnières outside Paris and head to the city. There, they lived in a cramped shelter
amongst thousands of other refugees. Food became so scarce that the
Vuittons nearly starved to death. When the war ended, Louis returned home. He was devastated to find his materials
stolen and his workshop destroyed. Using the remainder of his savings,
Louis wasted no time in rebuilding his workshop and finding a new shop location. Fortunately for him, property
prices dropped because of the war. Louis took advantage of the
opportunity and purchased a shop in an upscale district. Within months of reopening, business
was thriving again, and orders came in from all over the world. Louis now felt the need to
try new and bolder ideas. At the time, technology was advanced
enough to print custom patterns on fabric. And since canvas is a fabric, Louis
was able to create a line of trunks covered in a striped pattern. The new design took off immediately. It gave people a way to stand out
and show how up-to-date they are. It also made it more difficult for
counterfeiters to copy Louis’ work. Afterwards, Louis received so
many international orders that he opened a shop in London. The expansion led to diversifying
his clientele, which included more royals and explorers. From then on, Louis was known as the
only designer whose products could be found in both the homes of the
elite and within exotic rainforests. Eventually, Louis decided to release his
first catalogue to make ordering easy. It was a practical move that was bound
to bring the business to new heights. But within that same year, an unexpected
tragedy stomped on Louis’ efforts. Louis suddenly passed away
in his home at the age of 72. The cause of his death remains unknown. It was now up to Georges to take
on his father’s unfinished plans. Georges wasted no time in growing
the business and traveled to the U.S. to attend the World Fair. The experience made him realize that he
needed an international sales network. And fortunately for him, he met someone at
the fair who could help: John Wanamaker. John pioneered the concept
of the department store and invented the price tag. After meeting Georges, he started selling
LV in his New York department store. It became the first in the U.S. to carry the brand. It was then that Georges created a
monogram in memory of his father: a floral pattern with an interlocking L and V. Customers were shocked to
see the monogram on products. They were used to only embellishing
their own names or initials on bags. But eventually, times changed,
and the new design took off. From then on, Georges and his son,
Gaston, continued to follow Louis’ footsteps and created new designs. Noteworthy creations include a bag
for everyday use, the Keepall, a bag to carry wine and champagne,
the Noe, and a redesign of a Coco Chanel commission, the Alma. By then, Georges had
toured all over the U.S. and built a distribution network. Like his father, he was bound to
bring the business to new heights. But unfortunately,
history repeated itself. He passed away — leaving Gaston to
complete Louis’ unfinished plans alone. Gaston was off to an unlucky start. The Second World War erupted,
and contracts were cancelled. Gaston had no choice but to shut
down LV’s factory and stores. In Louis Vuitton, A French Saga, the
author claims that Gaston became so desperate to survive that he collaborated
with the ruling party for Germany. Gaston allegedly gave the green
light to produce commemorative busts, and set up a shop in Vichy. The author also claims that while shops
like Van Cleef and Arpels were shut down, LV was the only one allowed to stay open. A Louis Vuitton spokesperson later
commented, “This is ancient history … We are diverse, tolerant and all the
things a modern company should be." After the war ended, Gaston tasked
his sons, Henry, Jacques, and Claude, with rebuilding the company. With their father’s guidance,
the sons ensured new models of luggage were made each year. But after Gaston’s passing,
business stagnated. Hard-sided luggage became less popular. Henry, Jacques, and Claude were
divided about how to run the company. So they asked their sister’s husband,
Henry Racamier, to take over. By then, Henry had founded and sold a
steel trading company for a large profit. He had a keen business acumen and
pivoted LV from wholesale to retail and tapped into the Asian market. Within six years, LV sales soared
from $20 million to over $260 million. It was around then that
Henry took LV public. The company’s stock sold out after
more than one million shares were sold. Two months later, LV’s stock
price started to fluctuate. Analysts warned that sales might fall
since counterfeit goods were on the rise. Still, Henry forged ahead with
opening stores all over the world. Within just a few years, he
proved the analysts wrong. LV reached nearly $1 billion in sales
and merged with Möet-Hennessy, a champagne and cognac producer, to form
a luxury goods conglomerate: LVMH. The goal of both companies was to prevent
the threat of an outside takeover. While the merger allowed LV to
expand its investments, Henry found himself embroiled in management
disputes with Möet-Hennessy’s president: Alain Chevalier. In hopes of gaining control, Henry
asked a property developer named Bernard Arnault to be his ally, who
agreed, but soon after, Henry realized that Bernard had his own ambitions. Bernard secretly bought a
controlling interest in LVMH for himself and gained support from
the Möet and Hennessy families. Afterwards, a legal battle
between Henry and Bernard ensued. The courts favored Bernard
and forced Henry to step down. From then on, LV fell behind when
compared to other luxury brands. It was considered a smaller
business, and sales plummeted. No journalist dared to
speak highly of the brand. It wasn’t until LV followed Louis’
footsteps under the leadership of Yves Carcelle, and came up with a new
and bold idea that things changed. The company invited designers such as
Vivienne Westwood, Isaac Mizrahi, and Manolo Blahnik to create handbags using
its monogram for its 100th anniversary. At the time, such collaborations were
practically unheard of, and handbags weren’t a thing in the world of luxury. Still, the collaboration was
well-received and put both LV and handbags back on the map. One year later, LV hired a designer named
Marc Jacobs to be their creative director. Marc revitalized the brand by
launching its first ready-to-wear line, designing its popular Vernis
collection, and collaborating with high-profile artists — starting with
Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami. Since then, LV has expanded into
watches, jewelry and sunglasses, and continues to launch iconic bags. The company also continues
to make everything in-house. Craftsmen must train for
two years, and some pieces require 300 stages to assemble. Today, LV ranks as the No.1
luxury brand in the world, and its valuation has topped $30 billion. This is the story of how a
homeless teenager pioneered modern luggage and laid the foundation
for a billion-dollar empire. For more inspiring stories and advice
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