www.lvmh.com
A web Site Audit by Anida Bucila Master 2 de Communication Institutionnelle à l’international
I. Introduction The companies which form part of the champagne, spirits and leather goods division are over a century old, and some were established more than two centuries ago. Moët & Chandon dates back to 1743, while Château d'Yquem and its wines go as far back as 1593. The House of Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854. In perfumes and cosmetics and in fashion, the companies, sometimes created more recently, have cultivated their international standing over a number of years. Guerlain goes back to 1829, Christian Dior to 1947. Besides providing information on the brands, this site is designed to be a source for investors, shareholders, journalists and even job-seekers through the link “LVMH and you”. What attracted me to the site in the first place is its link to LVMH, patron of the arts and social solidarity. I chose to audit this site because I have already written a dissertation for the marketing class on this topic, “The Luxury market in South America”. On this occasion I realised that LVMH is not only the leader of luxury goods in South America, but also the world leader.
A.
Form The front page of the LVMH site is very well designed. On a sober grey background, we have the site that is centred in the page. Firstly, I can say that the place of photos seems to be very important. On this home page, the first thing we notice is the photo of Louis Vuitton’s last campaign (or another brand of the group – the photos change regularly and every time we visit the site there is a new one!). Secondly, on the left hand side of the page we have the logo “LVMH”, big enough to attract the attention of the visitor to the fact that this is the “LVMH” site, but also sober with capital black letters. Thirdly, on the right hand side of the page, we have an explanation of the logo of the group “LVMH” that is the merger of companies: Louis Vuitton & Moët Hennessy. Underneath this explanation there is a list of five links which present the main headers. These main headers conceal a scroll-down list. The main headers are:
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The Group
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Investor relations
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LVMH and you
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The magazine
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LVMH, patron of the arts and social solidarity. Fourthly, also on the right hand of the page, but on the lower part, we have the latest news of the Group: “2005 Full year revenue”, etc. Finally, at the very bottom of the page, there is a technical menu. There are links to the French, Japanese and Chinese version of the site, to the legal terms, and a site map. We can observe that there is a research engine, but also links like: Help, FAQ, Updates, Contact and Home. I think that the most useful of these links is the site map which will be our guide during this “journey”. On the site map, every link of the main headlines has a different colour. The general aesthetics of the site are quite well designed, and the place of colours was one of the LVMH strategies when building this site. It is also important to observe the simplicity of the site. Indeed, even if there are a lot of pages (more than 70), it is very easy to go from one page to another. A mere click can bring you to the information you require and with a high-speed ADSL internet connection, the site loads very fast.
B.
Contents As highlighted above, the content of the LVMH site is divided into five chapters: the Group, Investor relations, LVMH and you, the Magazine and the last, LVMH, patron of the arts and social solidarity.
Under this headline, we may discover more about the group’s mission and values and the key figures. In the key figures section we have the net sales and investments for every sector quoted below. Another section in this chapter, the most important one is the “LVMH companies and brands”. When you click on this section, you are provided access to a choice between 6 categories of products:
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Wines and Spirits
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Fashion and Leather goods
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Perfumes and Cosmetics
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Watches and Jewelry
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Selective retailing
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Other activities By scrolling over these categories, you are immediately shown the different brands that fall into that category. After choosing one of these, you are invited to select a brand name and are taken to a specific site. With the chapter LVMH group it is to be observed that the most prestigious brands are part of the group. Just some examples: Parfums Christian Dior, Tag Heuer, Kenzo, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Guerlain, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, etc. When you consult the page of “fashion and leather goods”, you are given the opportunity to select the brand you want: Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Celine, Berluti, Kenzo, etc. After selecting a brand, we have a short history of the brand. We learn, for example, that Tag Heuer was founded in 1860 and that its new global ambassadors are Uma Thurman, Brad Pitt and Juan Pablo Montoya. In the “other activities” subsection we learn that “La Tribune”, “Investir Hebdo”, “Investir magazine” and “Connaissance des arts” are printed by LVMH. Under “LVMH worldwide” we find the addresses of the LVMH’s brands in Brazil, USA, Japan, Australia…all over the world. Finally, in this chapter the visitor has the surprise of learning that the relationship between LVMH and environmental protection is a long-standing one. It appears that LVMH has drawn up a global charter that defines environmental protection and goals for its 56000 employees. Under this subsection, there are other subtitles: commitment, design, manufacture, glossary and documentation.
This page is quite basic, but it provides the essential financial information about the company. There are five links under this chapter:
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Profile, with the chairman’s message, Corporate governance, the activities, highlights and key figures
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Shareholders, with the shareholders’ guide, Dividend, the Club, Useful links, Glossary and Diary
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Documentation, with the results, reports, the Annual General Meetings and the Debt financing
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News, with the events and the latest press releases
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LVMH share
Here are three main parts: Join LVMH, Your Career at LVMH and LVMH house. Naturally, I was attracted by the first one, because I would like to apply for a job with LVMH. Under this section there is information for the new graduates, concerning partnerships, campus events, the internships, job openings and even a heading “How to apply”. On the “opening jobs” page, there is a searching engine that helps you to find the job you want by selecting a professional path in a geographical area for a business group. To apply for a job or an internship, you can either submit an application on line, or send your application to the head of the human resources department of the company you wish to apply to.
With this chapter, the visitor is invited to see the latest news about the group or a specific brand. There is also a focus and a special report.
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Culture, Arts and Heritage: LVMH suggests restoring, promoting and enriching our heritage. At the moment, in Paris there is a “Pierre Bonnard exhibition”.
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Youth: support forthcoming talents. LVMH has carried out various original initiatives so that primary school children, high school students, art students, young artists and designers, can benefit from educational programs conceived and carried out by the Group. We may also observe that there is a LVMH Young Artists’ Award.
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Solidarity: humanitarian and public health initiatives. LVMH is committed to establishing an active feeling of solidarity towards humanitarian causes and provides unfailing support to medical research in France and worldwide.
A.
Form
The use of colors and photos makes the website very attractive. Every page on the LVMH site is very well designed and opens with animations, but this does not slow down the loading of information at all. In spite of the large size of the site, the reader is driven by the clear structure of the whole. The site map page is very helpful to the visitor when he is looking for something in particular. Another interesting aspect: the site is always centered on the page.
Concerning the form, I think that the quality of the site is optimum and in my opinion, there is nothing to improve. Some visitors might say that there are too many links, but if we want exhaustive information, there is no other choice…
B.
Contents
The contents is very well organized. There is never too much information at a time. Instead, each page presents some basic facts and if we wish to read more about it, we can click to enter a more detailed page. So, I can say that the contents are developed, detailed and clearly written. The site is designed to inform different kinds of people: consumers, journalists, businessmen and job seekers, and even humanitarian and cultural organizations.
The site is so well documented that I can hardly say anything negative about its contents. I can see only one negative point: there is no federal message for all these brands. Also, it might be interesting to be able to access online shopping and some information for scientists.
C.
Form / Contents and Final Verdict The relationship between the form and the contents of the site is very well balanced. There is no superfluous information and the simple grey background underlines the colors and the quality of the latest LVMH brand campaigns. In my opinion, the site is very well designed and is the best way to promote the know-how of these luxury goods. I also think that a federal message and some information for scientists would be a plus. To put it in a nutshell, after analyzing this website, I better understand why LVMH is the worldwide leader on the luxury market. |
