Rejuvenated Louis has it in the bag

LOUIS Vuitton’s pricey new Capucine leather handbags are selling like hot cakes in European fashion capitals, store managers said, signalling the world’s biggest luxury brand could be regaining some of its lost sparkle.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Sep 2013, 10:22 BST

The news implies Louis Vuitton’s efforts to strengthen its offering of expensive leather bags to reposition itself as more upmarket and exclusive – as did Gucci recently – is starting to yield positive results. An informal survey of Louis Vuitton shops in Milan, Paris and London revealed shortages of the £3,000 Capucine bags since their launch in June, with long waiting lists.

The Leeds store had sold out yesterday evening.

On New Bond Street in London yesterday, there was only one sample bag with a ‘not for sale’ sticker on it and 40 people had already reserved one but assistants said the bags were likely to be available only at the end of September or early in Octo- ber.

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The Capucine handbag in full-grain Taurillon calf leather, a material also used by rival brand Hermes, is several times more expensive than Louis Vuitton’s canvas 600 euro-LV-embossed bags with which the brand built its name and profitability.

Bernard Arnault, the boss of parent company LVMH, said in January that Louis Vuitton planned to prune its portfolio of canvas bags.

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