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| Louis Vuitton Cartier and Prada resort to blockchain |
Louis Vuitton (Louis Vuitton), Cartier (Cartier) and Prada (Prada) work together. This is an unprecedented collaboration that aims to offer blockchain-based solutions to luxury European corporate clients in order to offer their customers products purchased through original brands.
The two companies said in a joint statement: The world's largest alliance of luxury product manufacturers plans to offer blockchain-based solutions to all luxury brands to reassure buyers that the products they purchase are authentic and that the products can be traced around the world. Transparent method.
LVMH General Manager Antonio Belloni said: Blockchain technology is a digital way to authenticate transactions by providing encrypted escrow certificates.
Certificates like these are already in the industry, but the blockchain’s reputation as a non-piracy tool means the project called Aura Blockchain can do better.
Louis Vuitton first announced a blockchain plan to track and certify luxury goods in early 2019, now implemented as the Aura blockchain.
Since blockchain technology is decentralized and virtually immutable, the company hopes to use this technology to create a global digital ledger that records all of its products, thus providing a reliable database.
The new system allows the owner to log in and closely track component source, environmental impact, ethical impact, proof of ownership and warranty.
Luxury brands suffer billions in revenue losses due to counterfeiting.
According to Frontier Economics, global trade in counterfeit goods will reach $ 910 billion by 2022, double what it was in 2013.
This estimate includes luxury goods, consumer goods, and other categories including medicines.
“The Aura blockchain project is likely to grow because it remains a cutting edge technology,” said Cyril Vignon, Cartier CEO.
Cartier tested the "Online Product Return" feature that allows buyers to capture and upload photos via the blockchain to demonstrate that the status of their returned products has changed between the time they were received and the time they were referred to the trademark. change. .
It's a simple question, Vigneron said, but it does mean that trust has grown between the two parties and that auction houses may be interested in using products like these when they are selling fine art.
Belloni explained that alignments are a way of setting industry standards rather than letting each brand come up with their own solutions.
The Aura blockchain project is in contact with other luxury goods groups, but Belloni declined to say the next brand could join.
He added that competitors cannot access customer data encrypted through the blockchain.
Bulgari and Hublot have tried this technology and Tiffany is the next candidate brand.
“Trust is the only key to developing our industry and we want to preserve it,” Belloni said. He added that all customers, especially young people, are concerned about this issue.
These solutions can also facilitate the sale of used luxury items.
The two executives said that while the technology is powered by the blockchain, there are no plans to accept payments for these goods in cryptocurrency.
Microsoft and ConsenSys help luxury product groups develop the technology infrastructure for a solution.