LV brand history

In 1837, Europe was being affected by the Industrial Revolution. Technology was advancing by leaps and bounds, and society was filled with excitement. That year, Louis Vuitton, who grew up in the countryside of Paris, was only 16 years old and left his homeland for Paris full of hope. His first job in Paris was as a bundler's apprentice, specializing in binding and transporting luggage for long-distance travel for nobles. Since the transportation at that time was mainly horse-drawn carriages and ships, a journey would take a long time and stay in the area for weeks or even months. Since nobles need to participate in dinners, picnics, sports and other activities on vacation, there are countless clothing and accessories. Bungers are responsible for delivering these luggage to the destination safely, and they are very particular about professional bundling skills. Louis Vuitton learned the tricks of packaging from it, and gradually became a leader in the upper class society. He was selected as the queen's full-time bundler, and then entered the upper class society. In 1854, Louis Vuitton opened the world's first travel bag store in Paris. In the same year, he launched the Torrianon suitcase, which was made of a wooden rectangular frame and hardwood boards, and was covered with a layer of original fabric. Lightweight and beautiful, it is widely loved by people. The mode of travel at that time also rapidly changed from horse-drawn carriages to railways. In order to comply with this trend, Louis Vuitton changed the upper part of the Torrianon suitcase to a flat shape, turning it into a suitcase suitable for train loading.

In 1858, a beige and brown vertical striped special fabric suitcase was developed, which was widely welcomed, so it was necessary to expand all production equipment. Louis Vuitton finally decided to build a factory dedicated to manufacturing hard leather cases in Anialou, which continues to this day and has become a living museum in the leather industry. As railways developed and travel became more popular, LV's suitcases proved to be sturdy and durable. After careful evaluation, the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1885, headed by the eldest son George? Louis Vuitton is in charge. He adopted a new checkered pattern in 1888 and adopted Marque L. Vuitton Deposee as LV's registered trademark. Four years later, Louis Vuitton passed away and was succeeded by George? Louis Vuitton inherits the family business. Under his leadership, LV's sales network successfully expanded to all parts of the world. Since 1898, it has set up agents in North and South America, India, and Asia. It also moved its head office and store to the Champs Elysées, becoming the world's largest Travel leather goods store. It was the eldest son Caston who succeeded George? Louis Vuitton. By 1954, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of his business, Caston moved his store to rue Marsau, which specialized in selling high-quality products. This became the world-famous LV flagship store. Caston worked hard to develop materials for leather goods, and finally in 1959, Egyptian cotton canvas was specially treated to become a very strong and elastic material. Later, handbags, shopping bags, and small wallets were launched one after another. Later, a factory specializing in manufacturing lightweight bags was set up near Lyon, and LV leather goods stores were added one after another around the world. Louis Vuitton, founded 134 years ago, insists on high-quality plant-based leather, hard bronze buckles and strong stitching, which has become the unchanging principle of the LV brand

The "ESPRIT" brand, founded by Americans Founded in 1971 by Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins, it has a history of more than 30 years in the United States. In the early days, it specialized in American women's clothing and accessories. ESPRIT's business later became more and more international, and Esprit International Corporation was developed.

In the 1970s, Xing Liyuan borrowed 20,000 yuan from his boss to start a business in the garment export business. Later, in order to reduce costs, Tang Jianshi and his wife went to Asia for purchasing. They met Xing in Hong Kong, and Xing became one of their suppliers in Asia. Due to the happy cooperation, Xing and Tang Jianshi formed a joint venture purchasing company in 1974. By the 1980s, the joint venture also operated distribution and retail businesses in Hong Kong and other Asian countries.

In 1990, due to the breakdown of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tang Jianshi, the group’s equity interests in various businesses began to be dispersed. Mr. Xing, who has been in charge of Esprit's Asian business, has achieved ideal business development, and the joint venture was listed in Hong Kong in 1993. In 1995, Xing injected 150 million yuan into its Australian business into the listed company. At the end of 1996, it invested another 1.84 billion yuan into Europe, Japan, the United States, international procurement and other businesses. At that time, the company's name was still Esprit Asia, but in May 1997, it was renamed Esprit Global. Xing's wish has been very obvious. He hopes to acquire the US business and unify the Esprit world. But at that time, Tang Jianshi's price was not accepted by Xing. Esprit, which emphasized cost control, was unwilling to increase the acquisition price and would rather wait for the opportunity. After waiting for five or six years, Xing finally got it at a low price (1 billion).