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THE DEATH OF PIERRE CARDIN: why his licensing strategy was a brand positioning mistake

Agence Puck 25 February 2022

Pierre Cardin, a true symbol of success, has died at the age of 98. A style icon, inventor of futuristic fashion and leading luxury couturier of the 1950s, he was recognised by his peers as one of the most brilliant of his generation. An undisputed pioneer of globalisation in the 1960s, Pierre Cardin was one of the first to see its importance, hence his licensing strategy, which made him one of the five best-known French people in the world at that time.

Thanks to these licences, his fortune was estimated at 600 million euros in 2018, according to the annual ranking drawn up by Forbes. He built this fortune by granting the right to use his name in exchange for a royalty. In this respect, he must be recognised as having always been a skilful negotiator.

A licensing strategy and its limits

Following the extreme proliferation of licences granted by the couturier in fields of activity that were sometimes very far removed from fashion, the term “cardinisation” entered marketing jargon. It is now used to illustrate the dangers luxury brands run when they overuse licences.

While licences are a good means of development, somewhat like franchising for a retail chain, you must control their consistency with your brand equity. Even though he defended himself by showing that he had total control over these partnerships, there is one thing he didn't control: the dispersion of his brand positioning.

A brand isn't just a logo on a product

A brand is first and foremost the birth of a legitimate idea (in the minds of consumers) corresponding to a promise made by the company for a product or range. By applying his name to, and so endorsing, such a wide range of products, he strayed from this promise of Cardin style and lost positioning. Little by little, he left the world of luxury and eroded his brand equity. It is now by no means certain that it will survive its creator.

Let's remember too that as far back as the 1990s, he had already granted so many licences that many of his products ended up in second-hand shops for lack of buyers in traditional retail.

Cardin is one example, but he isn't the only one.

Take the Fauchon brand, originally a successful grocery shop on Place de la Madeleine in 1880. The company positioned itself on the luxury gastronomy market, then diversified by moving extensively into traditional retail, gradually tarnishing its image and original positioning. In 2020, the Fauchon subsidiary was placed in compulsory liquidation.