Behind Store Doors: a global journey to meet our retail teams
Step behind store doors at Louis Vuitton to meet the diverse faces that bring our retail métiers to life. Discover the teams through the lens of local artists as we capture individual journeys from stores across the world, revealing the common threads that connect them.
On the first stop on a global journey, go behind the scenes at the Maison Champs-Elysées in Paris. A flagship store powered by over 300 talented employees, the iconic façade hosts all of the retail métiers offered by Louis Vuitton, held by passionate individuals each with their unique career path and personal aspirations.
After the store doors closed following a busy day bringing clients’ dreams to life, we went behind the scenes to meet the teams and document their passion in images. Read on to learn about the vibrant collective, inspiring mentorship and daily motivations that empower these individuals.
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Christophe is the director of the Champs-Élysées Maison in Paris. He joined Louis Vuitton six years ago, after a sixteen-year career in the airline industry.
I joined the Champs-Élysées Maison two months ago as store director, but my adventure at Louis Vuitton began in this same store, incidentally, in operations six years ago.
Since then, I've moved up through product management roles before being promoted to director, first at Roissy Airport, then at Le Bon Marché, and then at Galeries Lafayette, before joining the Champs-Élysées Maison.
I had no retail experience prior to joining the Maison. I had worked for sixteen years in the airline industry, managing a number of projects, including the First Class service and the business lounges at Roissy Airport. Moving into retail was a gamble for me, a completely new experience. I've always been passionate about and fascinated by the customer welcome and experience at Louis Vuitton, and I wanted to learn more about how it works.
Joining the teams also means adapting to the Maison's codes. It's a particularly dynamic and agile company. Decisions are made very quickly, which was a new culture for me. What I like about retail is being in contact with the teams and customers, while also being the pilot of my store and my business. It's about contributing to the enrichment of my employees and the well-being of the customer. I discovered, upon joining Louis Vuitton, a true culture of compassionate leadership. Because the atmosphere, the ambiance, the customer, you feel it. And this leadership culture that you find in stores is also a very strong vector for delivering the best to our customers.
The collective is very important when you work in retail. We are all driven by the history of the Maison, by the products, by the ability to move forward, to be creative. These values unite all the teams. Moreover, it also remains an operational world, a world in which everyone is confronted with new challenges. What is remarkable at Louis Vuitton is the ability to move forward and constantly find solutions. Every problem has a solution and this is a very strong driver within the store. The unexpected creates a lot of synergy and mutual support within the teams.
Louis Vuitton is full of opportunities, both in France and abroad. It's incredible, the prospects and opportunities within the LVMH Group. Career paths are crafted according to the aspirations of each individual and the possibilities within the Maison and the Group.
What distinguishes the employees at Louis Vuitton is, I would say, the kindness towards each other, the passion and love for their work, the culture of respect for others, and also this ability to embrace change. Anyone who is daring and has a taste for challenge will always find their place here.
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Marie joined Louis Vuitton two years ago, with several years of retail experience. She stepped into her latest role a few weeks ago as Watches and Jewelry Manager at the Maison Champs-Élysées.
When I arrived two years ago, it was my first experience in a luxury Maison. I was a sales advisor for French fashion brands before becoming a multi-brand manager in a large Parisian department store. I came from the retail sector but I had never worked in luxury.
Initially, I had an image of luxury that was perhaps a little old-fashioned, a little strict, which didn't necessarily correspond to my personality. I'm a fairly lively, spontaneous person. It’s important for me to get on well with my colleagues and I was afraid that the environment wouldn't correspond to that. But I heard only good things about Louis Vuitton and that’s ultimately what encouraged me to apply. I haven’t been disappointed!
It was a very pleasant surprise when I arrived here to see that it's a very human company. At the Champs-Élysées, the smooth running of the store also depends a lot on relationships and atmosphere. Team spirit here is about understanding, listening, helping each other, and a lot of good humor. Listening especially, because there are almost 400 of us and communication is very important to move forward together. Having this synergy and this atmosphere makes you want to come in every day even more, makes you want to go even further. It's the unity of the team that makes us successful.
As a manager, the relationship we have with our teams is paramount. Kindness and energy translate to the customers, you can feel it. And honestly, all my managers have been real examples and true mentors. When I arrived, I wondered, 'How do these people do it? Am I really going to become like them one day?' For me, these are things I admire because knowing how to manage stress, how to motivate your teams on a daily basis while having a very strategic vision of the business, is also what makes us grow as leaders. I was really impressed by the leadership here.
During my last two years, I've been proud to be able to help my teams grow as well. I've supported employees who, at the beginning, perhaps didn't necessarily have the confidence to sell certain product categories. Then, through our discussions, training and support, they gained confidence and decided to take the plunge. And I think that's my pride as a manager. Obviously, this generates growth for the business, but being able to see the joy and pride in the eyes of my teams, that's the most rewarding aspect for me.
Louis Vuitton is a very fast-moving company. It's this challenging aspect that I really like. I've already moved teams several times since joining the Maison. It's really encouraging to be in a company that promotes its teams internally. You see the successes of others, you see them moving forward and evolving every day.
For me, Louis Vuitton is a company that allows us to encompass an immensity of different personalities in our teams, and this allows us to remain ourselves, to bring new ideas. It's a Maison that has always been very innovative in its way of seeing things since its creation. Belonging to Louis Vuitton is a source of pride. It's a very beautiful human adventure.
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After a career change from the banking sector to retail, Amine spent several years in retail before moving into luxury. He joined Louis Vuitton two years ago.
I have a rather unusual background because I come from the banking world. It didn’t suit me at all, and I fell into retail completely by chance. Initially small structures, then I spent nine years in an Italian luxury house before joining Louis Vuitton two years ago.
What initially attracted me was the international reputation. Joining the leading Maison. I'm someone who is driven by challenges, so joining a Maison that really shapes the market was a real motivator.
Of course when you first join, you might apprehend the environment a little. But here at the Champs-Elysées, we have a real sense of sharing. There are employees who have been with the company for 25, 30, 35 years. Employees who have just arrived at the very start of their career, working closely with people who have worked at the Maison for decades. The time given to newcomers here was a very pleasant surprise, this notion of sharing and heritage is magnificent. It's a positive clash between generations. Here, it's the combination of profiles that forges our collective strength.
Retail has helped me grow a lot, both personally and professionally. At Louis Vuitton, agility is one of our signatures, and we all share this ability to pursue our ambitions and set ourselves challenging goals. We discover ourselves and we evolve. The collective is very important to me because I think you can't do it alone. I work on the principle that if there are several of us advancing in the same direction, we will inevitably succeed. We all need each other, we all help each other grow, and we have to make room for everyone.
As for career evolution, I have a lot of confidence in the people I work with. I think you have to trust the people who support us to shape our career paths together, brainstorm where we want to go, define new ambitions. I think you have to trust the people around you to help navigate your future.
I would say that I don't sell products, I sell dreams. We create stories that we share with our customers. Our products stand the test of time: we become part of the journey. Today we have customers who have evolved alongside us: we've seen marriages take place, we meet the children, the young adults who come to buy their first product from the Maison. We build real relationships.
This notion of pride is extremely strong. When you work for the best, you're proud of what you do, you win with the best. The Louis Vuitton spirit for me is that anything is possible. It’s the DNA of travel, for a journey that never ends.
