Luxury brand Louis Vuitton Malletier, a fashion house and luxury goods brand of LVMH, the largest luxury group globally, has chosen Wuhan, the Chinese city where coronavirus originated, as the first stop for its new global traveling exhibition.
In an announcement on the exhibition, made by Louis Vuitton said Wuhan is one of China's most important cities with a rich cultural and historical heritage. This step marks a clear sign of confidence in China's post-pandemic recovery and its importance as a luxury market.
The admission to the exhibition, which is free for the public, opened on October 31 and will continue till December 6. The show will explore the 160-year history of the brand - from its early days as a trunk maker in Paris to a brand that is synonymous with luxury.
Boasting a population of 11 million, the capital of Hubei province, Wuhan, has returned to normality, with the residents treating one of the world's strictest lockdowns as a distant memory and getting back to the pre-pandemic lifestyle. It has paved the way for brands like LV to expand and leverage this normality while the world is still grappling with the shocks of the second wave of coronavirus.
China is the largest market for luxury goods globally and important too for brands like Louis Vuitton. The brand held a menswear show in Shanghai in early August.
Since luxury brands are suffering in the fashion capitals and tourist-driven markets due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have navigated to China, which is now reveling in the pent-up demand and indulging in revenge shopping.
In response to this, brands are further expanding in China - opening stores and launching e-commerce platforms while shutting stores in underperforming markets of Europe.
A new trend has also been noticed in Chinese consumer behaviour: Wealthy Chinese consumers deprived of markets in Paris, London, and Milan are turning to luxury in their homeland, leading to a surge in the sales in China. Riding on the backs of closed international borders and travel bans, this changing consumer behaviour is a boon for luxury brands.
While Prada has seen the sales in China, rose to a whopping 60 percent in June, and 66 percent in July, Louis Vuitton and Dior have noted similar figures with the sales increasing to more than double.
