You prefer to visit the château de la Colle Noire in Montauroux, in the Var, that has inspired Christian Dior perfume Miss Dior ; or rather the abbey of Hautvillers in the Marne, where the benedictine monk Peter ” Dom ” Perignon, who lived between 1668 and 1715 contributed to the development of the nectar that now bears his name ? Unless you will be tempted by the Renaissance palace in the heart of Florence, which now houses the archives of the fashion house Pucci…
We are not talking about a new Lonely Planet guide of luxury, but of the sites LVMH, which open their doors to the general public during the “special Days” the 12, 13 and 14 October. Sixty-six locations in thirteen different countries on four continents. This is not the first time that the group of French luxury lets visit, but with each new edition, the operation takes on a new scope.
“, so that customers move in the store rather than buying on the Internet, it is necessary to create attachment to place. “Cécile Larrigaldie, responsible for the artistic actions in the Galeries Lafayette
The special Days began in 2011, based on an idea of Antoine Arnault. The son of the CEO, head of communication for the group, is inspired by the heritage Days. “I thought it would be interesting, in the image of the State in France, to open the doors of our homes to make these places, these know-how, and these people who work in anonymity. “After all, it is true that the architectural heritage of LVMH is almost competitive to that of the State…
All the interest these days, apart from visits to places usually inaccessible and very beautiful, it is that the employees of LVMH put hand to the dough. And those who are willing to talk of their trade on a Sunday are often highly motivated.
like Eric Leroux, a renowned knight of the order of Arts and Letters, met in the workshops of Vuitton in Asnières, Hauts-de-Seine, who seems touched by grace when he speaks of “the noise that echoes in [s]head” when it passes the thread through the leather. “The artisans are super proud to be part of these meetings,” says Antoine Arnault.
Hair of the beaver and the back-shops
This speech is reminiscent of the Galleries Lafayette Haussmann, who organized a month ago, during the heritage Days, an operation substantially the same : the visitors, invited before the opening of the store, could visit the scenes and meet the employees usually hidden in the back-shops.
” When it was proposed to the employees to show their work to visitors, we were surprised by their enthusiasm. I think they felt really the need to express themselves and show their work, ” says Cecile Larrigaldie, responsible for the artistic actions.
It was the tenth time that the parisian department store participated in heritage Days, but the first that instead of offering a guided tour through the rays, he chose to present the ” behind the scenes : the workshops of the merchandising (which deal with the visual organization of the sales areas) or the retoucherie, where the responsible Albanne Hamon showed with enthusiasm a coat-hair beaver adorned Galeries Lafayette department store dating back to 1909.
The change of formula obviously corresponds to a need to invent new formats in the air, the consumer likes to have the impression that he knows all about the brands for which it provides. But it is also part of a more global strategy. “Today, as customers move through the store rather than making their purchases on the Internet, it is necessary to create attachment to place. The heritage is one way of achieving this “, explains Cécile Larrigaldie.
Make shine the image of the house.
Chez LVMH, which communicates traditionally very little about its employees (whether managers or artisans), the special Days are a good way to show a little and risk free ; 2011, the year in which they were launched, was, moreover, at an especially awkward time for the group : “We suffered from the stereotype of the performance because the results were very good. (…) And we were in business image a little bit complicated, namely, the case Hermes [at the end of 2010, LVMH has introduced, to the general surprise, in the capital of Hermes, and threatening the independence of the house ; the group does, in fact, today the most part]. Our colleagues and sometimes competitors took a malicious pleasure to present the group as being very industrial, where everything is automated, and where the role of the hand is non-existent whereas it is the opposite. It is the craft in what is most noble ! “says Antoine Arnault.
also Read : LVMH, Kering, Hermès… The profits of the giants of the luxury fly
For its part, the group of luxury competitor, Kering, has also benefited from heritage Days to unveil his seat, the old hospital Laennec in Paris, carefully restored. In the chapel, visitors could discover a selection of works of contemporary art of the françois Pinault collection.
whether Kering, LVMH or Galleries Lafayette, these events are intended to shine the image of the house are of course free and there is nothing to buy on the spot. As said Antoine Arnault : “We are doing a trade-362 days per year, we don’t need to do these days ! “