Review: Louis Vuitton Japan: The Building Of Luxury by Kyojiro Hata

I realised that over the past months I've been reading quite a few books that inspired me. However, the inspirations left as inspirations that were eventually forgotten later. I decided to start book reviews so that I could record what I've learnt from these good reads.

I recently finished reading Louis Vuitton Japan: The Building Of Luxury by Kyojiro Hata.

Borrowing this book was steered by mere why-not when I saw it on the same shelf where I was searching for information for my school assignment. So I took it to the checkout counter at the library and thought
to myself, I'll read it if I have the time after doing my work. Little did I know, reading this book changed my perception of those who spent bombs on LV forever. I started reading in the mornings on my way to
work, and it was quite a easily readable book, I finished it in a few days' worth of train rides.

Though the title of the book sets the content in Japan, this book pretty much explains and holds the true spirit and tradition of Louis Vuitton. Wait a minute, what spirit, and tradition? Isn't LV all fashion and status for the rich and famous?

With its rich history for more than a century, the brand is based on the "spirit of travel". Right from the start, when the term "product development" was unheard of, Louis Vuitton kept innovating his products through ages as new means of transportation were introduced. He started from producing trunks for those suited for travelling on carriages, then to steamships and trains, and then to airplanes and cars.

Although I have never been a great fan of luxury goods, Louis Vuitton has won me over when I found out that unlike many other international brands that mass produce their goods, Louis Vuitton ensures quality control by having each piece painstakingly produced only by their skilled craftmen in France. They would never allow franchises nor have their production in even countries where they have branch offices.

More than just educating me about the building of the brand in Japan, I also learnt much branding principles from the author, Kyojiro Hata, who headed the establishing of LV in Japan.
He mentioned in the book, that there was a difference between designer fashion brands and a long-standing brand.
Designer fashion brands depend very much on the talent and ideas of the designer, but a long-standing brand like LV, is successful because of its quality, rich history and tradition.

He mentioned there were 6 requirements for Louis Vuitton as a real brand:

1. A long history
2. Consistent tradition
3. Unique Technology and know-how
4. A Unique Philosophy
5. Unique Aesthetic Values
6. High Quality and Quality Assurance

Though many products don't have a long history to boast off, I believe that point 2 - 6 are still relevant and essential to successful branding for any type of product.

To end off, here's a quote from the book, which inspired me. The author said this when he mentioned Japan's education system started out from "copying" Western education. Here it goes:

"The 21st century will be an era of creativity. To achieve growth or to success in career development, both businesses and individuals will need creativity. Looking back, I can say that a real brand never wastes times copying others.. What is important is to constantly pursue new business models, with flexibility and breathe ideas, from product development through to the distribution process.