LONGCHAMP

There is a need to refocus customer’s attention towards the Longchamp brand and its luxurious leather handbag
collections and luxurious products.

Longchamp Le Pliage

• Longchamp is a brand of strong heritage in the
luxury market.
• It is family run business which has clear goals of long
term protection and nurture of the brand and not
short terms monetary goals.
• The business differentiates itself from others
because of the advantage of manufacturing each
unit with the help of craftsman and artisans.
• Longchamp’s customers are people who love the
Brand, who have been connected with the Brand
from many generations,
• The brand also attracts people who love luxury,
products offered by the brand shows absolute
luxury.
• Le Pliage is a nylon material handbag which has it
own heritage of more than 20 years.
• The low price of the product is due to the lower cost
of fabric used in the product and the brand’s policy to
charge a fair price of the product considering the cost
of making.
• Le Pliage was successful because of the practical
nature of the product, its foldable material and
leather belts attracted everyone from a teenager to
an older person.
• Le Pliage benefits from the association with
Longchamp heritage and brand awareness.
• People loved Le Pliage because they were connected
to a luxurious brand at a reasonable price.

People consider Longchamp as Le Pliage which has destroyed the luxury image of the Brand, Le Pliage should be
separated from the Longchamp’s brand to bring back the Luxurious positioning of the Brand
1.
 Le Pliage should target the affordable luxury owners as its ideal customers, Longchamp and Le Pliage doesn’t share the
same target customer, for Longchamp a target customer among these would be a Brand lover or Luxury seeker.
Target audience Descriptors
Brand Lover Who is passionate about Longchamp
brand
Buys all products as soon as it hits
the market
Brand loyalist
Luxury seeker They are inclined towards luxury and
not brands, they are not the Brand
loyalists, they evaluate the products
and not the Brand names.
Edgy Smart stylish women, Looking for
something extra ordinary
Not a brand conscious
Affordable luxury owners Middle class consumers eager to
snap up for the status symbol
Is it different from
Longchamp’s target
audience?
No, Longchamp’s target
audience consists of the
people who love the brand
and who are loyal towards it
No, Longchamp’s target
audience includes people
who are buying the brand
because of the feeling of
luxury it offers and not
because they love the brand
No, Longchamp’s target
consumers are looking for
classic and simple items
from the Brand
Yes, Longchamp’s doesn’t
target audience which are
looking for only affordable
luxury finds.
Does our product meet the needs and Is the target Big Summary
benefit sought of this segment? enough?
Yes, le Pliage gives the Brand lover of Yes, The target is big The Brand lover is
Longchamp the feeling that they have enough for a luxury more suitable for the
the most loved piece of the brand in market Longchamp brand as
their wardrobe. there are not price
conscious, they want to
be connected to the
brand.
No, Le Pliage is not an extremely Yes, The target is big The Luxury seeker is
luxurious product because of the nylon enough for a luxury also not a very good fit
material. market for Le Pliage because
Le Pliage is about
practicality rather than
luxury
Yes, le Pliage is an extra ordinary Yes, The target is big Edgy women is not
product because of its practicality and enough for a luxury suitable somewhere in
design. market between for Le Pliage
and Longchamp
however it is still not
an efficient target
Yes, le Pliage is best suited for this Yes, The target is big Affordable luxury
segment, it is rightly price to give a enough for a luxury owners should be the
brand experience for the affordable market perfect fit for Le Pliage
luxury owners because they want to
feel connected to the
Brand
2.
Le Pliage should consider positioning itself with Price and accessibility factor to attract the target consumer.
Descriptors
Price and accessibility Prestige price vs affordable
easily available vs exclusive
Heritage oriented vs Heritage shows in the
fashion and classic vs products vs Fashion shows
modern in the products
Classic pieces (classic looks
not trends) edgy modern
pieces (They are connected
with trends)
Is the appeal strong Can we deliver better Can we defend it in the Will our channels Summary
enough to achieve the than our competitors are future? support/endorse the
goals? doing it now? positioning?
Yes, Le Pliage is known Yes, for a luxury brand we Yes, if we keep the same Yes, our channels will This positioning is perfect
for the reasonable price are delivery better than strategy for le Pliage we support/endorse the for Le Pliage as it
and and easily our competitors can defend the same in positioning provided that highlights the best
accessibility , hence the future. it gets separated from the benefits.
appeal is strong enough Longchamp brand.
to achieve the goals
Yes, Le Pliage is Yes, for our Brand name, Yes, we can defend this in No, our channels will not This strategy merges with
associated with we are delivering this the future because The support this as the Le Longchamp’s strategy, as
Longchamp which gives better than our appeal of Le Pliage will Pliage is falling under the this is not healthy for the
it heritage and the le competitors remain same. same axis with Longchamp Brand to be
Pliage style has always Longchamp, this is not associated with something
been in the classic form healthy for the of cheap price and easy
nylon with leather Longchamp brand accessibility, this isn’t the
handles. right positioning
3.
“For affordable luxury owners, who are looking for a fashionable product from a luxury brand, Le Pliage is
the only brand which offers the association of luxury brand at a reasonable price because of the heritage and
craftsmanship.
Descriptors
Quality Runs for a longer time
because of the quality and
handmade stitching
Practical Origami folding design
fashionable leather handle and
craftsmanship.
Feel happy and I feel happy happy and
confident confident while carrying the
Le Pliage bag.
Easily recognizable Due to the classic nature, it
is easily recognizable
Feel associated with I feel associated with the
the luxury brand at a high class luxury Brand at a
reasonable price price which suits my pocket
Does the benefit
resonate strongly with
our target audience?
No, our target audience
doesn’t care much about
the quality
No, our target audience
doesn’t care much about
the practical nature of Le
Pliage
Yes, this benefit is one of
the criteria which our
target audience considers
before buying the product
Yes ,the target audience
feels good about carrying
a fashionable product
with high brand
Yes, the target audience
resonates well with this
benefit because they
want to be recognized as
someone using Le Pliage
by Long champ
Yes, this benefit resonates
very strongly with our
defined audience who is
looking for a product from
a high end brand at a
decent price
Is it really relevant to our
target audience?
No, our target audience
doesn’t relate much to
the quality of le Pliage
No, our target audience
doesn’t relate much to
the practicality of le Pliage
Yes, it is relevant to our
target audience
Yes, it is really relevant to
our target audience
Yes, this benefit is
relevant to our audience
Yes, this benefit is
relevant to the target
audience
Can we own this benefit?
Yes, we can own this
benefit because the
quality of le Pliage great
Yes, we can own this
because Le Pliage has the
folding design.
Yes, we own this benefit
because the design and
style of the Le Pliage
Yes, we can own this
benefit because Le Pliage
is associated with
Longchamp
Yes, we can own this
benefit because due to
the long heritage of the Le
Pliage it is not easily
recognizable
Yes, we can own this
benefit because Le Pliage
gives that feeling of being
connected with a high
end brand
Can we effectively
communicate it?
Yes, we can communicate
it effectively because we
have reason to believe
that it has handmade
stitching and
Yes, we can communicate
this effectively because of
the reasons to believe
Yes, we can communicate
this effectively because
Yes, we can communicate
this effectively because of
the nature of the product
and Brand association
Yes, we can communicate
this effectively because of
the strong reason to
believe that it has
heritage
Yes, we can communicate
this effectively due to the
strong reason to believe
as this Brand is a part of
Long champ’s heritage
Le Pliage should be branded as Le Pliage by Longchamp (endorsed Brand) to suit the positioning of being associated
with the luxury brand, this way Longchamp can also differentiate le Pliage as to be for the affordable market

Type Of Brand Name Does it enhance the Can we communicate Will our channels Is it consistent with
main Brand? it? support it? positioning?
Sub Brand Longchamp-Le Pliage No it doesn’t enhance No, this would not be Yes, other channels No, the positioning
the main brand as this easy to communicate will not have a wants to differentiate
just defines the with the main brand problem with the direct brand name
product Longchamp because of the nature supporting the change with Le Pliage.
offers, it does degrade of the products
the brand because of offered.
the nature of le Pliage

Endorsed Brand Le Pliage by Yes, it separate the Yes, we can Yes, they will support Yes, this shows the
Longchamp main brand however communicate this this as this doesn’t association of main
the association can effectively without need any further brand with le Pliage
still be seen making much licensing or stores
investment
House of Brand Le Pliage Yes, this would clearly No, it needs extra No, channels would No, our positioning
differentiate the brand investment to not support this as this still want to include
from Longchamp communicate this needs licensing and Longchamp’s
brand separately different stores. association with the
Brand

4.
Considering the defined target audience and new brand strategy of using the endorsed brand, naming Le Pliage as “Le
Pliage by Longchamp” and keeping the association of the master brand with the Le Pliage we can resolve the
Longchamp’s concern , there is no product assortment or brand extension is required for the Brand.

Recommendations.

Price The Price of the Le Pliage should be maintained the same because that is one of
the major selling point.

Channel The right channel to sell Le Pliage is through the same stores as long
strategies Champ, however the distribution should only be limited to retail stores and not
department stores or outlet stores like winner, Hudson bay because this creates a
sense of easy accessibility and this can harm the image of master brand also.

Product Le Pliage has its own heritage because of the style and practicality of the bag,
assortme adding any product lines to a brand which is famous for the functional benefit
nt would not be relatable to the brand. For example: its not practical to make just
nylon clothes under this Brand. Longchamp can add another brand with reasonable
product lines by adding a different endorsed brand.

5.
As per the Porters 6 forces, the industry does not look attractive

Bargaining power of Threats of new entry- Threat of substitutes- Competitive rivalry - Bargaining power of Complementors-Null
suppliers -Low Low High High buyer- High

Supplier or craftsmen Due to the existing Due to the large number There are large number The cost of switching is No complementors
are majorly settled in competition, it is of competitors the of brands competing null for the buyers and
small cities and they unlikely for new brand threat of substitutes is against each others. due to the large number
are obliged to follow to succeed without high. Each of them have their of competitors, buying
the stated rules, making huge investment loyal customers, power of the buyer is
Longchamp would High capital investment however there is intense high.
have the purchasing is required to not only competition to acquire
power and can for the infrastructure new customers.
switch from one but also for marketing, The competitive rivalry
supplier to another promoting the brand is not only because of
the local Brands but also
from the American
brands.

6.
 As per the VRIO analysis, it is clear that the Brand’s competitive advantage is the manufacturing units it owns.
Valuable
Financial stability Yes, financial stability is always
valuable to all the companies
Manufacturing units Yes, the company owning the
manufacturing units is highly
valuable.
Heritage Yes, the heritage of the company is
highly valuable
Family Yes, this is valuable because family
business mean there is no risk of
secrets and decisions leaking out.
And it allows them to take long
term perspective for the business
and not short terms
Superior craftsmanship Yes, the superior craftsmanship is
valuable for the business
Rare
No, its not rare as there are other
companies with high financial
power.
Yes, it is rare, because most of the
handbags company’s import the
bags from china and they have
license to sell those bags faster,
however for long champ each
handbag goes through 250 steps
for the final product
No, its not rate because there are
other companies with long heritage
No, this is no rare as there are
other family owned businesses
No, it is not rare as there are
companies with superiors
craftsmanship
Imitable
No, this cannot be imitable
No, this is not easily imitable, this
setup needs great amount of
money to build a successful
manufacturing unit
No, heritage is either there or not,
no one can imitate it.
No, it cant be imitable, it is either
there or not
Yes, it is imitable as anyone can
hire the craftsman
Organization
Yes, the company is taking
advantage of its financial stability
and taking the business slow.
Yes, the company is exploiting
these manufacturing units to
produce all the SKU’s
Yes, the brand positioning is done
keeping in mind the heritage of the
brand.
Yes, everyone is in the business
together.
Yes, they are taking advantage of
their available resources.
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