Jean Cassegrain is the individual behind proper now’s progress and development at French label, Longchamp. With an understanding of strategies to run a worthwhile family-led enterprise that he picked up from his father sooner than succeeding him as president of the company, the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris graduate labored as a administration advisor sooner than working for Longchamp in 1991. For over 30 years, Jean has served as an lively member of the family company and has enhanced Longchamp’s place from a solely bag and baggage participant to a worldwide life-style agency together with gear, ready-to-wear, eyewear and footwear, whereas holding the authenticity and sincerity of the Maison. Fast forward to 2024 and Longchamp sees the opening of its flagship retailer at TRX Mall Kuala Lumpur and the most important boutique in Malaysia thus far signaling the expansion of the leather-based gadgets agency from Paris to Kuala Lumpur. Spanning all through 2,893 sq. ft, the store pays homage to the mannequin’s rich heritage by its décor that exudes a elegant however vibrant ambiance. Modeled after a private Parisian condominium, the realm provides a full differ of baggage, small leather-based gadgets, gear and footwear alongside a alternative of ready-to-wear gadgets. Certainly not one to be complacent, Jean Cassegrain takes the hands-on regarding particulars, from the collections and campaigns, all the way down to deciding on the art work displayed inside Longchamp’s boutiques. LUXUO speaks to Longchamp president Jean Cassegrain in a one-on-one interview for an notion into the mannequin’s long-term plans, future progress prospects and sustainability initiatives.

Since its founding in Paris in 1948, Longchamp has developed vastly. Inform us further in regards to the French Maison and its core DNA?

Our mannequin’s key phrases are leather-based, family, satisfying, top quality and creativity. We now have managed the mannequin by the years to keep up an outstanding combination of those and our operate is to proceed to create and take risks. Our independence affords us the aptitude to develop our duties and keep free to create, innovate and take risks as we could not in some other case. Being an unbiased family agency permits us to take a long-term view in most of our enterprise decisions. From leather-covered pipes to the first Nylon baggage, or from Longchamp’s Le Pliage success to our collaboration with Kate Moss, enhancements made our answer to what Longchamp is nowadays, a world luxurious mannequin. Even when quite a few points have modified since 1948, we’re nonetheless as focused on innovation and top quality as we had been inside the early days.

What’s the important thing secret behind the mannequin’s longevity?

The fundamental motive behind Longchamp’s success is to have the flexibility to imagine on a long-term basis. Longchamp is not a listed agency, it is a family-led agency with a model new know-how (the fourth one) on the purpose of take the administration of the company in a few years from now. It is fascinating to note that Longchamp has solely had three CEOs over the earlier 75 years. One among many points that we have got succeeded in doing is to stay current and to on a regular basis be updated and adapt to the situations. We now have on a regular basis been able to be inside the second and to be associated to each timeframe. The latest testament to Longchamp’s resilience and success is the staggering +44 % progress of the company’s turnover in 2023.

How strategic is the opening of this excellent Longchamp boutique at TRX Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia?

Malaysia has been a implausible market for Longchamp over the earlier twenty years. The opening of this flagship boutique is a strong testament to our dedication to this nation and its extraordinarily discerning purchasers. The colour palette of the boutique is current and alluring, the whole space permits for a leisure, and the distinctive artworks by French artist Geneviève Claisse (1935-2018) have been chosen with good care to produce an immersive experience. A Longchamp boutique resembles no totally different. We like our customers to essentially really feel “comme à la maison” — at dwelling and welcomed.   

You seem to have been very involved with the opening of this Longchamp flagship retailer at TRX Mall Kuala Lumpur?

Certain, definitely, I have been intently involved. In a retailer, every ingredient counts and every ingredient typically is a provide of emotion, whether or not or not it’s a optimistic emotion or usually a harmful emotion as correctly. It’s truly a 360-degree technique, considerably as digital grows and turns into further atmosphere pleasant, outlets should ship one factor else to the desk except for effectivity, on account of digital is on a regular basis going to be further atmosphere pleasant. Outlets must ship emotion, and that’s I really feel the route that we’re heading in, to make sure that the emotion is there.

Your effectivity is making one other producers envious, notably due to Asia. How do you see this?

We now have the excellence of being present in Asia given that Nineteen Fifties, notably in Japan. My father (Philippe Cassegrain, the son of Longchamp founder Jean Cassegrain Sr.,) might let you recognize about his boat journeys to Singapore and Hong Kong in 1956 to advertise Longchamp merchandise, so this story goes method once more. Historically, we had been among the many many first European producers to be supplied in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Asia has been an important contributor to our progress in the case of turnover, notably in Southeast Asia and China.

How would you describe the Longchamp girl?

Relaxed alongside together with her time, energetic and engaged, and associated in the case of trend and adaptation to our updated world and tempo. Even when our mannequin has now grow to be completely worldwide, our merchandise are on a regular basis designed with the French girl in ideas. Our typical Longchamp girl is a Parisian and her trend is simple. She enjoys life and needs to have satisfying. Our purchasers like our sense of top of the range and the casual trend of our bags and ready-to-wear.

What’s your priority to proceed strengthening the mannequin and its worldwide enchantment?

Our priority stays to care for a sustainable stability between our utterly totally different markets all through all continents. We’re this month [February] opening a wonderful boutique in Malaysia at TRX Mall. Moreover, on the equivalent time, we have got opened a strategic flagship retailer in New York on 5^th Avenue. It tells moderately quite a bit in regards to the worldwide enchantment of Longchamp!

What is the operate of Longchamp ready-to-wear, one you look like pushing strongly?

Ready-to-wear is immensely serving to to stipulate the Longchamp girl. Aside baggage and gear, a shirt, a fancy dress help for instance the imaginative and prescient of the mannequin and that of its ingenious director, Sophie Delafontaine. Ready-to-wear tells a strong story, a direct illustration of the mannequin’s DNA. Ready-to-wear is true now on the very centre of the Longchamp universe.

Longchamp has however to enter licensing, similar to for fragrances and eyewear. Why is that?

We satisfaction ourselves on being curious and talking about one development at a time. Fragrances and eyewear aren’t inside our priorities proper now. It would change, nonetheless as already talked about, we want to broaden the enterprise on sturdy and sound foundations.  

The place do you see progress coming from for the mannequin?

The lads’s universe inside Longchamp represents 20 % of the turnover, we think about that, due to a rising unisex growth in vogue (assume Korea and its massive have an effect on on Gen Z purchasers), the lads’s section will improve over the approaching years. We moreover produce different ideas about which developments are in progress. Actually, It’s a sort of points that we very quite a bit think about in the case of administration practices, to try quite a few points. So, we fail moderately quite a bit nonetheless we try moderately quite a bit, and usually we uncover success after which we try to expertise on that success. It’s a trial-and-error course of with quite a few misses after which a few hits, which is what makes us remaining and what makes us nonetheless associated after 70 further years.

Kim Se-jeong, the favored Korean singer and actress, stepped into her new operate as a result of the star in Longchamp’s latest campaigns. How is the Maison’s Ambassador chosen?

Definitely, on 6 February, we launched that singer and actress Kim Se-jeong had been chosen as our Asia space ambassador. The affect has been almost prompt and overwhelming! We could not have dreamed greater than Kim Se-jeong as ambassador as she embodies the core values of Longchamp. The massive crowd of followers welcoming her and cheering wherever she goes is fantastic. Longchamp has in no way been so fascinating on this part of the world, and partly due to a model new and vibrant ambassador.

Over the earlier two years following the COVID pandemic, there was a change in purchasing for habits. What do you assume your purchasers in the meanwhile are trying to find in a product?

There seems to be a strong and renewed urge for meals for going out and procuring. Longchamp is benefitting from the very sturdy uplift inside the enterprise with our purchasers in many various nations. I really feel one different issue that is altering is there is a fast-growing curiosity in CSR and sustainability. And I really feel that’s turning into further part of the equation; a further important part of the connection between a mannequin and its purchasers.

What are your concepts on sustainability? How is Longchamp showing there?

One amongst our massive points is clearly native climate change and all of us needs to be involved and act at our private stage. As a enterprise, we make and switch merchandise all around the world, so we have got a carbon affect. What we must always do is use strategies to operate our enterprise and reduce the carbon affect on the equivalent time. That’s what we attempt to do at Longchamp. At our private stage, we will not resolve the world’s points alone, nonetheless we’re in a position to each act in a fashion that contributes to decreasing world carbon emissions. We now have quite a lot of initiatives for that, and we try to proceed rising our enterprise on account of moreover it’s our obligation to our workers and companions. Resulting from this truth, we now have to proceed rising our enterprise, nonetheless on the equivalent time, we now have to reduce our carbon footprint.

Will Longchamp shortly enter the M&A sport and objective at shopping for one different luxurious mannequin?

No, this is not the least bit a priority. Our focus is on Longchamp, its customers, its teams and its cautious however vivid development worldwide.

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