Givenchy
History of Givenchy:
The company was founded in the 1950s by French designer Hubert de Givenchy. However, it is currently owned by the LVMH group which owns around 75 of the biggest fashion houses in the world. Givenchy found success early being featured in vogue and the New York times. Although Chanel is noted for the iconic little black dress, Givenchy is noted for being the master behind Audrey Hepburn’s famous dress from her role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
This is one of the reasons Givenchy is one of my favorite fashion brands. Along with the black dress they made for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Givenchy worked with Audrey Hepburn on multiple occasions creating beautiful looks such as 1954 Sabrina, Funny face 1957, and many other recognised roles in film
Givenchy’s corporate social responsibility:
Although the LVMH group has been slow to respond to the change in consumer preferences in terms of the environmental impact that the fashion industry has, as of May 2021 Givenchy along with other companies under the LVMH have joined the UN fashion charter and are taking part in the Life 360 sustainability plan.
Linking this to the financial performance of the LVMH group, looking at their income statement from 2020 to 2021, their net profit has more than doubled. This could potentially be due to Givenchy adjusting business practices to suit shifts in consumer attitudes.
Givenchy marketing strategy and target markets:
When Givenchy first started as a fashion house in the 1950s it only produced women’s clothing geared more towards females between the ages of 25-35 years old. This is because Givenchy saw it as an opportunity to explore contemporary trends and fashion ideas as well as have the classic timeless element. This is because they saw their target audience as women who wanted to experiment with clothing and fashion.
As they found early success, around 20 years later in the 1970s they began menswear collections with the same marketing ideas as the women’s wear and they gave men the opportunity to experiment with fashion in the same way.
Currently, Givenchy still operates in a similar market with almost 35% of its consumers being 25-35 years old.
References:
https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/gallery/audrey-hepburn-givenchy-film-looks
https://www.lvmh.com/investors/profile/financial-indicators/#structure-financiere
https://www.similarweb.com/website/givenchy.com/#demographics
https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/inside-lvmhs-biggest-sustainability-plan-yet