Porter !

Lancel celebrates its 134 years of existence. The brand, initially a parisian shop retailing accessories for smokers in the Opera district, started to sell much needed purses as make up, cigarettes etc were to be carried during the walks on the Grands Boulevards.

It is only a decade later, under the impulsion of Albert, the son of Alphonse and Adèle, that the shop would sell products  such as the "Umbrella-Bag" and the trunk "Aviona"under its own brand name.  The opening of the shop Place de L'Opera achieved to give Lancel a status of prestige and established LeatherGoods maker.

In the 50s, incorporating synthetic materials in their line, Lncel became more affordable and reached the masses, paradoxically keeping the image of an upper standard brand. The "Kangourou" suitcase, the "Trotteur" handbag, red luggage and the Bucket Bag- a best seller since its creation by Elsa Lancel in 1987 - are emblematic items of the Brand that became sold to the Richemont Group in 1997.

Yet, the 90s marked a breakthrough of the luxury landscape. After years of uninterrupted success with the Bucket Bag, Lancel handbags suddenly lost their appeal to the profit of the likes of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and YSL. These brands took marketing to a whole new level and the new popularity of luxury was to be a battle of the Titans fighting to get the best and most promising brands in their portfolio, LVMH and PPR being at the top of the fight.

As an in-between, Lancel became non descript brand but worked on its luggage range but the money certainly is in the IT-Bag industry. So, Lancel's challenge was to appeal to younger crowd with a fresh new look. Despite all its marketing effort,  they never managed to position themselves as a luxury brand. Not luxurious enough yet rather expensive, without the glittz and glam that appeals to that young clientele, Lancel is is trying  too hard to get to the level of prestige it never really had. Using pseudo stars/celebrities didn't help. The poor choice in the matter certainly grounded the brand onto this provincial old France.

The challenge for Lancel is to give a prestigious and international image while exuding of youthful elegance and sense of zeitgeist. But they like many other brands, they have a hard time to re-create themselves and leverage their historical prestige: Stephane Kelian, Robert Clergerie, Charles Jourdan, Swiss brand Bally...

They all have in common a typical lack of "edge".  If they have know-how they don't have any know-Wow which gives Lancel  and their likes an image of "Has-been".

To my humble opinion, luggage is the way to go for Lancel. Not only does the brand excels at it but it also corresponds to the new globalised era where travelling is common and comfortable enough to travel in style while the products should be elegantly and intelligently functional. They should retract from the race of the IT-Bag for now and should invest marketing in what will secure their establishment status on the long run to bring money in the short term, leveraging a very positive image in this segment. The declinaison of their red canvas luggage in gold/ bronze tones with well-thought interior management / organisation will provide them a similar popular prestige among travelers, position themselves higher than Samsonite and just below Louis Vuitton - which suitcases are too expensive to risk airports manhandling.

Louis Vuitton reached this level that way. For Lancel, it would just take another 20 years to celebrate their 150th anniversary in full bloom.

I am looking forward to see what will be the next strategical move for the brand.