Louis Vuitton’s Miss on Value Communication Online

Last week, I wrote about how brands can be misleading through product naming (here). Saint Laurent, for example, emphasizes that a jumpsuit from the new winter collection is cashmere, while leaving out the fact that cashmere makes up only 35% of the composition.

Here is another example of how a brand misses a great opportunity to highlight value. After a fitting for 2Jour-Stylist.com, I discovered — with some surprise — that Louis Vuitton has very solid RTW. The brand clearly positions fashion as more of an accessory; Bernard Arnault himself mentioned this during the LVMH financial results presentation earlier this year. Partly because of that, I strongly associated the brand with total logos, bags, and trunks. It turned out my perception was only partly correct — the brand not only offers creatively strong clothing, but what matters even more to me, the pieces fit exceptionally well. Since then, I’ve been periodically monitoring the website.

This coat caught my attention because I am actively looking for a light-colored option with a strong composition. It is made of 100% cashmere and is priced quite reasonably, especially when compared with other luxury-market offerings. I would personally add a belt in the same material as the sleeve inserts — that would instantly add points through versatility.

o you know how many times the brand mentions the composition — its clear competitive advantage — on the website? Twice. In small font. It is not included in the SEO product name either, which would help it appear in search results for “cashmere coat.” Another advantage — the silk lining and leather inserts — is mentioned only once. This is a clear gap in how the product is presented online.

How could this have been done better? By integrating the material into the product name — I like how this is displayed as a subtitle on Dior and Loro Piana websites.

It is also essential to include material names in the SEO keywords for the product page to improve visibility in search engines. For instance, in 2Jour Stylist lookbooks, the following information is included in the SEO settings:

• full item name

 • brand & collection name

 • detailed material description

 • brand item code

This approach helps the lookbooks appear among the top results in search engines.