3 Luxury Business Lessons From The Queen Of Champagne - Veuve Clicquot

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was a 27-year-old widow with a small child when she started to turn her late husband’s fledgling wine trading business into THE global champagne brand Veuve Clicquot (‘veuve’ being French for widow), making her the richest woman in France (and possibly Europe) at the time.

The history of this trailblazing woman is a source of many business lessons for luxury (and non-luxury) business owners alike.  Today I want to share with you my 3 favorite lessons from this iconic business lady.

Lesson One – You can launch a successful (luxury) business in a downturn

Madame Clicquot launched her champagne brand in the early 1800s after her husband’s death during times of social unrest and war in France and across Continental Europe. Nevertheless, she recognized the opportunities societal shifts presented to luxury brands and capitalized on it. At that moment, the champagne market was relatively small, but Russians were early enthusiasts, specifically for the sweet style of champagne Veuve Clicquot produced. And when the Russian Tsar proclaimed that he’d only ever drink Veuve Clicquot, the whole Russian court followed suit. A global brand was born. Madam Clicquot realized that there will always be a taste for luxurious things, even if most people were struggling. Because she wasn’t targeting her products at everybody, only at the highest end of the market and those who aspired to be there, too.

Lesson Two – Running a (luxury) business requires long-term vision and risk-taking

Producing champagne is a long-term game of several years. It’s a big investment and risk to the business hence the price tag attached to the product. Imagine this: To ship the champagne from France to Russia, it was put on the back of a horse-drawn carriage, loaded onto small river boats, stored at the main harbor, then loaded onto sailboats to cross the seas. All while risking someone dropping the crates, incorrect storage of the bottles or the product being exposed to temperature shifts which seriously impact the quality of the champagne. Meanwhile, she had to wait for letters from her shipping agent and traveling salesperson to learn whether shipment had been successful – no tracking codes at the time! Just imagine how stressful it would have been to sit at home waiting to find out if your investment of several years even made it to its destination. Madam Clicquot took great risks and it paid off for her.

Lesson Three – High-end visual branding makes a difference

The Veuve Clicquot brand was among the first to utilize labels on their bottles to indicate producer, provenance and vintage. This was needed as the wine industry moved into selling directly to end consumers and so brand became a key decision factor for buyers. The distinctive rich, golden yellow label was first used and trademarked in 1877 and is still being used today. Madame Clicquot used visual branding to set her brand apart from competitors (who mostly used white or other subtle colors). It’s a perfect example of the major role visual branding can play in influencing the way potential customers and clients think about your business, especially if you are selling a high-end product or service.

The story of Madame Clicquot and her champagne empire serves as a great source of inspiration for myself and my luxury clients. Her legacy continues with the The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award and New Generation Award which recognizes the achievements of female leaders who demonstrate similar leadership and entrepreneurial ambition as Barbe-Nicole.

Cheers to that!