Friday, 11 December 2009

Louis Vuitton Sees Melbourne As An Important Luxury Destination – 11/12/09

''A lot of time, a lot of planning, goes into every expansion, so it's very heartening to hear that people are queuing to get in. Melbourne is now one of our significant international cities, with three stores. In my region, only Hong Kong and Singapore have more.''

A quote by Jean-Baptiste Debains, President of Louis Vuitton Asia-Pacific, on Chadstone’s new store. (see the MO Down on 13 November and 20 November for details of this new luxury retail precinct with 12 high-end stores).

Debains continued on to say, “In the Asia-Pacific region, we have maybe 10 projects a year, so Melbourne having three projects happening in three years is most unusual, but it's also linked to opportunities we have here.''

He also reminded us that there are two cornerstones to Louis Vuitton’s business model. ''The first is the quality of the products - we do not compromise - and the second is that we never do any discounts or sales.'' Click here to read more from Debains, including his responses to the hard questions on counterfeiting, the G.F.C. and more.

While this is all positive news on the Australian front, in the U.S, there is still lingering uncertainty surrounding the luxury market.

This week, hedge fund manager Shawn Kravetz suggested “shares of luxury retailers may have rebounded too strongly from lows.” And that he is taking a “wait-and-see approach to see if they fall back to attractive investment levels.” Click here to read more, but we recommend you read the good news (above) first.

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Who's behind the MO DOWN

Melinda O’Rourke is the founder and Director of MO Luxury, a dynamic, Sydney-based management firm specialising in luxury brands and services. Melinda and her associates at MO work with local and international brands across prestige retail, fashion, fine jewellery, timepieces and specialised services. Melinda is well-connected, well-read, and well-versed in the demands of the luxury market and its client base. Her advice is firmly based in objectivity and ultimately, accountability. Melinda offers constructive counsel and both strategic and creative thinking and is able to draw upon a strong network of specialised talent to compliment the MO Luxury team as needed. Melinda enjoys excellent industry relationships and is regularly quoted in the business and fashion media. Read more about MO Luxury, www.moluxury.com.au