Page 23 - RLI March 2019

ast year, Longchamp celebrated 70 years in
REINTERPRETING
CONTEMPORARY LUXURY
LONGCHAMP 5th AvENUE New York, US
Quality, excellence, perfection. Since its origins in 1946, Longchamp has pursued these
goals and without fail, each of their creations follows these guiding principles. Here,
RLI sits down with company CEO Jean Cassegrain to discuss the past 12 months and
highlight what the next 12 months has in store.
22 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL MARCH 2019
“We have strong French and Parisian roots, but at the same
business. 1948 marked the year Jean Cassegrain time we have always been international and cosmopolitan,”
imparted his unique vision of French elegance explains Cassegrain. “Our customers worldwide are not
coming to us for a culturally neutral product; on the contrary,
Land rewrote the rules of modern luxury under
the Longchamp brand. A leather pipe maker channeling his they like us because of our Frenchness. The Parisian woman
craftsmanship into travel accessories, handbags and lifestyle
is and will remain our inspiration.”
fashion, the Longchamp brand now extends across the globe.
Longchamp has embraced the importance of social media
Today, the House is in the hands of the third generation of
Cassegrain: his eldest son, Jean is the CEO, his daughter, Sophie from the very beginning, and back in 2009 it was the first
European brand on WeChat. Today they have in place an
Delafontaine, the Creative Director, and his younger son,
omni-channel strategy that allows them to engage with its
Olivier, leads the brand’s development of American boutiques.
The very first Longchamp store was located in the heart consumers across countries and across platforms such as
Instagram, KakaoTalk, Weibo and Facebook.
of Paris in the second arrondissement, now the company Cassegrain believes that there is an authenticity to the
directly operates over 300 stores around the world, and the brand that the customers can perceive in a world where
brand is available in more than 80 countries. everything is so artificial and marketed. This, along with the
“2018 was a busy year, we announced Kendall Jenner as fact that Longchamp is an independent family business with
our new brand ambassador, we held our first show at New strong roots, is why customers are loyal and why the brand
York Fashion Week and we celebrated Longchamp’s 70th stands out from the rest of the market.
anniversary at the Opera Garnier in Paris,” explains company So what does Cassegrain consider to be the key drivers
CEO Jean Cassegrain. “These events supported our growth behind the brand’s success to date?
but also contributed to changing the perception of our brand “We are a product-brand more than a marketing brand.
from leather goods specialists to a global lifestyle brand.” Our success is based
In May last year the company opened its flagship store on on our products, their “We have strong French and
5th Avenue in New York. The 370sq m, two-storey boutique quality of course but also
is its largest outpost in the US, offering women’s handbags, the fact that our offer is Parisian roots, but at the same
ready-to-wear, shoes, leather accessories, men’s collections frequently renewed and time We have alWays been
and all its luggage pieces. always feels fresh and
“The brand is already established in most major markets in relevant,” he says. international and cosmoPolitan”
Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas. We are now Longchamp is a brand
focusing on fine-tuning our network, improving our locations that is always in motion, accompanying men and women
where they need to be. The most important opening this who are also always in motion. The brand reinterprets
year will be a new flagship in Ginza, Tokyo,” says Cassegrain. contemporary luxury with its point of view, adding style to
This year, Longchamp continued to preview its latest its unique French heritage.
collections at New York Fashion Week with its second show So what lies ahead and what does Cassegrain perceive
last month and they will soon be revealing its second campaign to be the greatest challenge facing the company in the
with Kendall Jenner as well as launching a new line of bags. coming months?
Even with a strong and recognisable brand such as “Deciding to preview our collections at New York Fashion
Longchamp, every season is a new challenge and every season Week presents a new challenge for us each year. We are
the company needs to come up with new and exciting ideas focused on affirming our position in the fashion world and
and they believe it is key to maintain a strong flow of new establishing our successes in new categories, such as ready-
products to keep the interest and attention of its customers. to-wear, shoes and eyewear,” Cassegrain concludes.
LONGCHAMP
MAISON OMOTESANDO
Tokyo, Japan
LONGCHAMP 5th AvENUE
New York, US
LONGCHAMP 5th AvENUE
New York, US