Louis Vuitton's Texas Factory Is Flopping: What Went Wrong?

Louis Vuitton’s Texas disaster reveals U.S. manufacturing decline but how exactly did this happen?

Follow me on Twitch:   / fashionroadman  
My E-Book: https://www.thefashionarchivemag.com/...
Patreon:   / fashionroadman  
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/30khAeS...
Join My Fashion Discord:   / discord  
Website: https://www.thefashionarchivemag.com/
Social Media: https://linktr.ee/fashionroadman
Join this channel to get access to perks:
   / @fashionroadman  

Donate To The Channel: https://monzo.me/odunayomichaelojo
___________________
MORE INFO
Six years ago, LVMH's billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands.

But since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees told Reuters. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, according to three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff.

The plant’s problems – which haven’t previously been reported – highlight the challenges for LVMH as it attempts to build its production footprint in the U.S. to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs on European-made goods.

“The ramp-up was harder than we thought it would be, that’s true,” Ludovic Pauchard, Louis Vuitton’s industrial director, said in an interview on Friday in response to detailed questions about Reuters findings.

The Texas site, situated on a 250-acre ranch, has struggled due to a lack of skilled leather workers able to produce at the brand’s quality standards, the three former workers told Reuters. “It took them years to start making the simple pockets of the Neverfull handbag,” one source familiar with operations at the plant said, referring to the classic Louis Vuitton shoulder tote bag.
Errors made during the cutting, preparation and assembly process led to the waste of as many as 40% of the leather hides, said one former employee with detailed knowledge of the factory’s performance. Industry-wide, typical waste rates for leather goods are generally 20%, a senior industry source said.

Several former employees who spoke to Reuters described a high pressure environment. To boost production numbers, supervisors routinely turned a blind eye toward methods to conceal defects, and in some cases encouraged them, four former employees told Reuters.
Pauchard acknowledged there had been such cases in the past, but said the issue had been resolved. “This dates back to 2018 and one particular manager who isn’t part of the company anymore,” he said.

Poorly-crafted handbags deemed unfit for sale are shredded on-site and carted away in trucks for incineration, two of the sources with knowledge of the firm’s supply chain said.
A former production supervisor who often travelled to the site, said Louis Vuitton mostly used the Texas plant for less sophisticated handbag models, producing its most expensive products elsewhere.

Pauchard, Louis Vuitton's industrial director, said the company was being “patient” with “a young factory.”

“Any bag that goes out of it must be a Louis Vuitton bag, we make sure it meets exactly the same quality,” he said. “I am not aware of any kinds of issues suggesting the quality coming from Texas is any different from that coming from Europe.”

Perched behind a hill, the handbag maker's two production facilities were built on grounds near grazing cattle and a gas well. Louis Vuitton named the site Rochambeau in tribute to a French general who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Workers at the site make components and entire models of Louis Vuitton handbags like Felice pochettes and Metis bags – with "Made in USA" tags inside. The items sell for around $1,500 and $3,000 at high-end boutiques.

LVMH declined to comment when asked which handbag models are fully or partially made in Texas but former workers interviewed by Reuters mentioned the Carryall, Keepall, Metis, Felice and Neverfull handbag lines among the plant's products.

In its marketing material, Louis Vuitton says its handbags - typically made at French, Spanish or Italian leather ateliers by artisans known as "petites mains” - are assembled using a process that it has perfected since the mid 19th century. After cutting canvas and leather using hand tools and laser-cutting machines, they stitch pieces together using industrial sewing machines.

#fashion #luxuryfashion #louisvuitton #texas #lvmh