Balenciaga has replaced Nike and Adidas in the Taikoo Hui shopping center on Nanjing Road, Shanghai's largest shopping street. Since December 12, 2024, this complex of concrete walls and unpainted cinderblocks has been open to the public seven days a week. It is the largest Balenciaga outlet in the world: Over 900 square meters are dedicated to the French brand owned by Kering. In Bangkok, at the beginning of December 2024, LVMH subsidiary Dior opened the Dior Gold House, a 1,000-square-meter concept store with a café-restaurant. And in early January, Louis Vuitton brought out the big marketing guns.

LVMH's most important brand has launched a new collection designed with Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist fond of manga and pop culture. In a worldwide advertising campaign, Zendaya, a 28-year-old American actress whose Instagram account has 180 million followers, promotes multicolored bags, scrunchies, sneakers, skateboards and belts emblazoned with the LV logo. Prices start at €200 and the products have a "girly" design.

Louis Vuitton's goal is obvious: It's trying to make a comeback. The first Murakami edition is said to have generated several hundred million euros in sales when it launched in 2003. The commercial stakes are high. Louis Vuitton accounted for more than €20 billion of the LVMH group's €86 billion in sales in 2023. And in 2024, according to the Bernstein firm, its business held up better against headwinds than Dior, the second-largest brand in the group founded by Bernard Arnault.

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