When I worked with the LV team on the America's Cup project if we ever went out for dinner, lunch or had a party (when corporate paid) we'd often say at the end of the event "Thanks, Louis!"...
Sadly today came the announcement that they are withdrawing from the America's Cup as a sponsor, after 25 years and having created the Louis Vuitton Cup - the oldest sponsorship in sport.
Here's a story from the
Guardian in London...
Louis Vuitton cuts America's Cup tie after 25 years By Alexander Smith
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Louis Vuitton has ended its sponsorship of the America's Cup after a 25-year link with sailing's most prestigious event, unhappy with the way it is being run and the direction it is taking under Swiss holder Alinghi.
"We have brought an end to our partnership with the America's Cup after a quarter of a century," Louis Vuitton Cup Director Christine Belanger said on Friday.
Belanger said the decision had been taken in recent days after discussions within Louis Vuitton, which is part of French luxury goods group LVMH.
Tensions between Louis Vuitton and the organisers of the America's Cup have developed since Alinghi brought the Cup back to Europe in 2003 for the first time in 152 years.
Louis Vuitton has wanted to preserve the event's aura of wealth, elegance and luxury and its appeal to a global audience including the world's super-rich. This clashed with Alinghi's focus on commercialising it, bringing in more money and people.
This change had forced Louis Vuitton to re-evaluate the return on its multi-million euro investment.
"For the last few weeks and months we have been thinking a lot about how the event was evolving ... and we have decided that unfortunately we should withdraw from the event," Belanger told Reuters by telephone from the Spanish port of Valencia.
Louis Vuitton cited a more commercial approach to the America's Cup, questions among some participants about the way the next event would be run and the risk of a fall in the number of teams taking part, as factors behind its decision.
NEW SPONSOR
The America's Cup organiser defended its running of the event, saying it would find a sponsor more in tune with its vision. But America's Cup Management (ACM) would not comment on rumours that it would be privately owned Swiss watchmaker Rolex.
"We now have to try and find a company which does share our progressive and modern vision of the America's Cup," ACM Chief Operating Officer Michel Hodara told Reuters by telephone from Switzerland.
BMW Oracle's Golden Gate Yacht Club on Thursday protested at the way Alinghi has set up the 33rd America's Cup, arguing it unfairly favours the defender.
Under the Cup's rules the winner decides where, when and how to race the next event.
Louis Vuitton's move leaves the competition with a large financial hole to fill as the company had invested tens of millions of euros, far outspending fellow sponsors Spanish bank Santander, Alcatel-Lucent and Spanish utility Endesa.
As well as being the main sponsor of the 32nd America's Cup which was won on July 3 by Alinghi -- the syndicate bankrolled by Swiss biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli -- Louis Vuitton also sponsors the Louis Vuitton Cup.
This has been the qualifying regatta for the America's Cup itself and the Louis Vuitton Cup has been awarded to the team which has won the right to challenge the America's Cup holder.
Belanger said the Louis Vuitton Cup remained the property of the company and had been lent to ACM, the organisation set up by Alinghi to run the 156-year-old event.
Team New Zealand, who won the Louis Vuitton Cup this year but were beaten 5-2 in the best-of-nine America's Cup series by Alinghi, will hold onto the trophy until it is challenged for again, Belanger said.
But Louis Vuitton had not yet decided whether it would instigate another sailing event, she added.
-- Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Jane Barrett in Brussels
And from Womens Wear DailyVuitton Drops Sponsorship of America's Cup
Published: Friday, July 13, 2007
By Emilie Marsh
PARIS — The Louis Vuitton Cup is no more.
Vuitton said Friday that it would part ways with the America’s Cup, sailing’s biggest event, after almost a quarter-century of lending its name to the qualifying races that determine which boat will challenge for yachting’s top prize.
In a statement, Vuitton cited a “more commercial approach” to the America’s Cup, which has exploded in scale in recent years, attracting bigger crowds, more boats — and lots of eager sponsors beyond the luxury crowd.
Vuitton had become an integral part of the event, staging glamorous parties around its signature races and selling special Louis Vuitton Cup watches and accessories in its stores. Earlier this year, Vuitton devoted a special photo exhibition to the races at its gallery atop the Champs-Elysées flagship here.“Louis Vuitton has decided not to lend its name to the next Challenger selection series,” the company said in a statement, declining to elaborate. “It will follow with interest the future development of the competition,
while not excluding the possibility of reviving the Louis Vuitton Cup in another form.”Since Team Alinghi chief Ernesto Bertarelli first took the America’s Cup title from New Zealand in 2003, the cost of mounting the event has skyrocketed, some sources estimating tenfold.
After Alinghi’s victory this month, speculation has been rife that sponsorship of the event would go to the highest bidder. It is rumored that Rolex could be among the new sponsors.
Until now, the event’s exclusive appeal attracted sponsors such as Prada, Audemars Piguet, Tag Heuer, Hublot and Girard-Perregaux, who printed their names on masts and sails.
But this past May, Bruno Troublé, organizer of the Louis Vuitton Cup, warned that as the event’s popularity grows, less glamorous brands might look to edge in, which could drive luxury labels away. “It’s a risk to display a luxury label alongside soft drinks,” he told WWD at the time.
Yesterday I sadly had to say goodbye to Mum and put her on the plane to LA where she'll have a few weeks with Sheila, but not before we did some more sightseeing in Chicago.
The glass fountain was designed by Spanish artist, Jaume Plensa and features a video projection of faces of various Chicago residents that change out every so often - some, not before spouting water out of their "mouth". Between takes the sculpture returns to being a fountain, the video disappears and water pours out from the top.
Cheeeeese!
Cheeeeese!
As we passed one of the old buildings they pointed out the sign "Gotham Police Department" - they're filming the next Batman movie in Chicago at the moment.
Have fun in LA! Love you!
