Luxury Brands: What Are They Doing About Social Responsibility? David S. Waller, Marketing Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney Anurag G. Hingorani, Marketing Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney Abstract Although luxury goods may be synonymous with extravagance, lavishness, and even waste, it may appear to be a contradiction that a number of companies that manufacture and sell luxury brands have also discovered the value of being socially responsible. With growing criticism of the high costs and exploitation in the manufacture of luxury goods, some companies are increasing the extent to which corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues feature in their business practices. This paper will look at the …show more content…

Some CSR activities that luxury brands can undertake include eco-friendly ingredient sourcing, fair pricing, eco-manufacture, and efficient non-wasteful distribution, as well as corporate sponsorship. This study will examine the CSR activities run by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world‟s largest luxury goods conglomerate, via a content analysis of the LVMH 2010 Annual Report. The main company information about LVMH is found in Table 1.

Table 1: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Company Information Luxury goods, retail Industry Founded Headquarters Products Brands 1987 Paris, France Clothing, cosmetics, fashion accessories, jewellery, perfumes, spirits, watches and wines Includes: Moët et Chandon, Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Fendi, Donna Karan, Givenchy, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot, DFS, Le Bon Marché €20.32 billion €3.032 billion 83,540 Methodology Organisations can communicate their CSR information through a variety of sources such as advertising, annual reports, public relations and their websites. In this study, the annual report was analysed as this is the only document produced regularly to comply with regulatory requirements and is central to the organisation‟s own image (Gray, Kouhy and Lavers 1995). After finding the LVMH 2010 annual report online from the