Pierre Cardin: from being a pioneer in the fashion world to selling toilet paper. How far is too far?

Pierre Cardin is currently a brand with various product scales in many industries, whose foundations were laid by Pierre Cardin himself in France. Making a name for itself with its success in many countries of the world, Pierre Cardin was not only limited to the clothing industry but also managed to stand out in areas such as home textile, jewellery, stationery, and restaurant chain — but his success did not last too long.

Pack of cigarettes licensed under the Pierre Cardin brand

"Pierre Cardin — he has sold his name for toilet paper. At what point do you lose your identity?" — Women’s Wear Daily, 1995

Cardin was known for his avant-garde style — he gained notoriety for his futuristic, abstract dresses with bold designs, polka dots, and oversized pom-poms in the 1960s. In a time when it was classy, chic, and predictable, he elevated Parisian fashion into the odd zone.

The early extensions of the brand into perfumes and cosmetics in the 1960s performed so well that the business started indiscriminately to sell licenses. By 1988, more than 800 licenses in 94 countries had been issued, creating an annual revenue stream of $1 billion, and profits collapsed. The name starting to appear on irrelevant products such as baseball caps and cigarettes led the brand to people doubting the authenticity of the items that were being sold by that time.

Pierre Cardin branded Tupperware

ggOne dilemma in his path was whether to proceed with more licenses ggto be more present or to stay in fashion only. He was already a ggprominent name in the lux world and had a strong brand awareness. ggHis idea to enter new areas should have contributed to ensuring a ggstronger presence. However, this wild licensing strategy turned out ggto be rather difficult to control. Indeed, nobody wanted to buy an ggexpensive dress that was branded with the same name appearing ggon a cheap pack of cigarettes.

Pierre Cardin branded pen

Cardin was among the first brands to enter in several different product categories and usually, time advantage plays a positive role, but that was not the case given also the fast pace at which this strategy was pursued. It generated confusion in both their customers and the public audience about what the brand stands for and represents. Some kept looking at it as a high-end fashion brand, while the majority started looking at it as a 'low-quality and cheap brand’ as a result of the licensed products, despite the good quality and the premium pricing. The expansion was indeed perceived as uncontrolled leading to losing the brand’s core values. 

The rationale was more than clear: Cardin wanted to be everywhere. He wanted to gain brand visibility and recognition by being present in diverse kinds of products. With quotes such as "What I'm interested in is mass distribution. It's thanks to my creativity that I became a businessman.” and the infamous "I don't want to end up like Balenciaga and die without a nickel -- then, 20 years after I'm dead, see others make a fortune from my name.”, Cardin manifested his worries about his future that led him to maintain the portfolio diversification strategy through licenses.
In 2011, Cardin announced that he wanted to sell his brand for €1 Billion to ensure its continuity, also considering that he had not married or had children that could have sustained his legacy.
In the end, he decided not to sell.
Perhaps that was not a well-thought strategy since selling would have brought a breath of fresh air to the brand and it could have stopped the authenticity confusion in his customers.

REFERENCES

N. Sayej. (2020). Who is Pierre Cardin? A New Documentary Wants to Know. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadjasayej/2020/08/11/who-is-pierre-cardin-a-new-documentary-wants-to-know/?sh=5e57ee0c2ed5

J.Dike. (2015. Digging Deeper - Pierre Cardin’s Demise to “Licensing King”. Highsnobiety.

https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/digging-deeper-pierre-cardin/

A.Chandak. (2017). Pierre Cardin Brand Strategy.  Medium.

https://medium.com/@anjanachandak14/pierre-cardin-brand-strategy-67528a8a438a 

M. Reddy, N. Terblanche. (2005). How not to Extend Your Luxury Brand. Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2005/12/how-not-to-extend-your-luxury-brand

A.Fury. (2018). Pierre Cardin’s Bizarre Back-Catalogue of Licensing. AnOther Magazine.

https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/10489/pierre-cardins-bizarre-back-catalogue-of-licensing