Intro
This is the 99th post in my series on how to decide whether to spend money on a product, service or a business idea.
The idea behind this series is to help you decide whether you should spend time and money on something that could be a good business idea.
It is about getting your brain off the backburner and working on it.
The first step I always take in deciding if I should spend time and money on something is to ask myself “is la mer worth it?”
If the answer is no: then I don’t want waste my time and money. If the answer is yes: then I need to look at the question carefully and make sure it really has value for me and my business.
And if all else fails, just ignore it. There are lots of people who are also doing this sort of work or will be doing this sort of work shortly. The solution may not be right for you, but there will always be someone else with a similar solution or with more experience than you who might be able to help you out with your decision-making process.
What is La Mer
La Mer is a French brand of luxury bath oil marketed by the LVMH company. The product is composed of a blend of olive and argan oils, that are blended with argan oil, coconut oil and other natural ingredients to provide a creamy texture to skin. The brand is sold in four different varieties: La Mer Eau De Toilette (for women), La Mer Shampoo (for men), La Mer Fluid (for children) and La Mer Body Wash (for all skin types).
La mer was launched in 1997 in collaboration with the perfume house Guerlain. It was originally sold exclusively in France, but has since been exported more widely.
“The original fragrance from Guerlain was sold exclusively with La mer bath oil. When first launched in French stores, the fragrance was called Gage de Guerlain because it had notes similar to those used by the famous perfumer.”
Rémi Fleury is a French lifestyle brand created by fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and his wife Marie-Anne Gaultier in 2005; it represents their efforts to create “a unique line of luxury items for the modern woman”.
Within years after launch, Rémi Fleury grew into a global brand reaching all corners of the world including United States, China, India and Japan. In addition to house fragrances, Rémi Fleury also sells accessories such as shawls/scarves/towels/slippers etc., bags and jewelry among other products including cosmetics.
The company employs 3,500 people around the world including 1,000 female employees across 35 countries who work under its headquarters located in Paris. In 2014 alone sales reached €2 billion ($2.5 billion USD).
Is it worth it
La Mer is an award-winning hotel brand founded in 1892. It is a luxury lifestyle brand, with a strong focus on contemporary design, quality and comfort. La Mer hotels are located in Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dallas.
I think what we’re seeing here is the fact that there is no clear direction for luxury brands to take at this point in time. We have some ideas about what “luxury” means (and in fact many of them are also quite useful for non-luxury brands as well), but it’s unclear what this means for the industry more generally. If a luxury brand wants to be known as “a luxury brand”, it should be able to offer something better than the competition — the need to define that better thing is why I think it would be most helpful if they took the time to explicitly state what that “better thing” was.
In the case of La Mer, I think they make 4 different products:
1) La Mer hotels
From Paris to New York
La Mer hotels offer modern design and exceptional comfort with a unique French touch.
The 5* Hotel du Vin in Parc des Princes offers Parisians an opportunity to experience Le Vin et le Champagne alongside world-class dining.
The 3* Hotel von Schönbrunn offers European hospitality and luxury at an affordable price
2) La Mer cities
From Amsterdam to Berlin
3) La Mer spa & wellness
- La mer Spa & Wellness offers unique relaxation experiences in our spa & wellness area.
, which seems like they could have been done so much better while also making sure there was something distinctive and memorable about each product line. While it could have been done in many ways (and I suspect it wouldn’t even have looked very different from how it has been done), I think this approach clearly shows how important these brands want people to remember their products rather than just simply buying them because of their name alone.
Conclusion
“La mer is expensive and I cannot live without it.”
This is the refrain I hear more and more frequently from Indian office workers, as they are unable to afford the price of a la mer. It is a common refrain from expats too, who can’t afford the price of an in-country la mer especially for an extended stay. While it is true that la mer costs quite a bit more than a regular hotel room or even a hostel, it isn’t much of an issue when you spend less on everyday expenses.
On the other hand, there are those who can’t afford to buy anything at all, but still wish to enjoy a la mer vacation. But what if you are one of these people? Can you afford to go on vacation in La Mer with just $30 dollars? The answer is “no” and that clearly shows that $30 is not enough money to have a La Mer holiday (not even close). So what should my advice be? Simple: Don’t buy any la mer products (the vast majority of which are not worth buying), but also don’t be afraid to take out your hard earned cash for your vacation (although $30+ per day would be better).