Word: vuitton
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...generations of elegant travelers, Louis Vuitton has been the last word in luxury luggage. Marlene Dietrich once crammed 23 trunks bearing Vuitton's famous initials into her limousine before a trip. Now Paris-based Vuitton, whose retail prices range from $235 for a duffel bag to $1,225 for a hard-frame suitcase, has decided to unlock itself and let in public owners. In a unique double offering, the 130-year-old company (1983 sales: $100 million) listed its stock on the Paris Bourse last week, and plans to sell 258,000 common shares on the U.S. over...
...going public, Vuitton will be cashing in on a remarkable boom. Sales of its luggage and handbags have surged more than eightfold since 1977, when Henry Racamier, a retired steelmaker whose wife is a member of the Vuitton family, took over as president. At the time, Vuitton had only one factory. Racamier added six more and opened more than 50 new stores in cities ranging from Singapore to Short Hills, N. J. As a result of the exuberant expansion, two-thirds of Vuitton's business now comes from high-fashion bag toters outside France...
Single women living with their parents are among the most conspicuous consumers. They outfit themselves with imported designer ensembles, including Louis Vuitton handbags ($750), Hermes scarves ($166) and Yves Saint Laurent shoes ($133). Japanese women also spend heavily on traditional dress. An upper-middle-class woman may own 25 kimonos with a total value of at least...
...timed feeder that mechanically portions out the chow. An enclosed bowl called Step 'n Dine encourages precocious felines to step on a pedal to get at the kibble. For cats who accompany their owners, there are carrying cases that cost as much as $420 for Louis Vuitton versions, and for $33.98, a caring cat owner may invest in a tiny, burglar-and rat-proof door that can be installed at the bottom of a regular house door; the cat opens it with a magnetic device worn around its neck. At Animal Kingdom in Chicago, there...
...Vuitton initials, however, are now so ubiquitous that some of the firm's traditional customers are grumbling. Said one impeccably dressed matron who stopped at Vuitton's Manhattan shop last week to ask about the plain bags: "I don't want my friends to think I'm adhering to the fad of having designer initials on everything." Vuitton will still make its standard initialed line for those who wish to be walking billboards...