Anyone remember the panic around logistics/supply chain cryptos in 2019 when Louis Vuitton decided to create their own blockchain instead of partnering with an existing one with already proven crypto teams/developers? That blockchain was eventually called Aura and almost immediately had several other so called "luxury fashion" companies jump aboard. So before we even start answering the title question we already have some relevant and almost equally important followup questions: Why are competitors partnering with each other and why didn't Louis Vuitton take the easy way out and partner with an existing crypto, which would actually be cheaper with far less hassle and work?

I kept an eye on this overpriced 🐎💩 company ever since because at the time I was heavily invested in supply chain cryptos. So naturally people like me would really want to know the logic behind Louis Vuitton's thinking for our own sake and to learn and understand more regarding both blockchain and it's connection to the business world. Some might call this connection "mass adoption" or "industrial use case" but however you want to call it, it took me quite some time and despite all the effort I put in, I unfortunately to date still haven't found a smoking gun. That's not to say it was all futile and I found nothing, there is this trail of gun power which I'll share here and which may sooner or later lead us to the culprit aka final answers, but until then:

To understand why we first need to understand why they actually wanted to get into blockchain to begin with and also have a closer look at the basics of this "Aura". Basically speaking, their Aura platform is a soft fork of Ethereum, namely Quorum. If you don't know the difference between soft and hard forks you can read all about it on this link. Quorom allows companies to "create their own protected private networks on Quorum, a feature that is of critical importance to most enterprises." This article made a statement that was rather interesting and pretty much summed up the fears and most plausible reasons as to why they went out of their way to avoid existing crypto teams and blockchains. "Quorum will help maintaining data privacy by ensuring that no information will be leaked between the brands and their customers." Ohhhh "privacy" eyy? So let me get this straight, while governments are attacking privacy coins, keeping a close eye on traceable blockchains, developing tools to track privacy coins and storing addresses in a centralized database, companies are opting for private networks so that the outside world does not learn their dirty little secrets and get tangible and above all traceable evidence as to how they operate?

I guess having the +120 employees at VeChain access to detailed info how your multi-billion Euro business is run on literal slave labor and destroying the environment isn't the best strategy, but more on that later. Let's first focus on why they wanted a blockchain to begin with? Was it to fight child labor? To reject blood diamonds? To make sure their raw materials did not come from mistreated animals? To stop the existence of 21st century slave labor? To fight the rampant pollution the clothing industry causes which we'll get into later and will probably leave you in awe? No. They wanted to get into blockchain to maximize their profits by fighting and minimizing counterfeits. Yes that's where their priority was, higher profits by eliminating counterfeit products. This isn't me guessing, this was by their own admission the main reason they gave back when this all started. "One of the main issues that luxury brands face is counterfeiting....since most of the value of luxury goods is in the brand itself, ensuring that the products sold on the market are authentic is essential to preserve the prosperity of these companies. LVMH launched the Aura Blockchain with Microsoft and ConsenSys in 2019 for this exact purpose."

But aside from maximizing profits I'm quite sure that along the way they'll learn quite a bit about the entire process as well, since they'll be able to trace their products from when they are raw materials, to importing/shipping and finally to point of (initial) sale and even after that sales in the second-hand markets, which means that both the initial buyer and second hand buyer will be feeding them info. The info they don't want the outside world to know, what they themselves already know and are never held accountable for is this:

You know, every now and then you see the complete picture of how something in our world works. Regarding the so called "fashion" industry, it's basically exploiting children and destroying poor Asian nations' environment, to sell citizens in (primarily) West-Europe and North-America overpriced items that'll mostly end up in poor African nations which will later on also destroy their environment as well:

"How Africa" you ask? You know those "donate" your clothes bins? When I was little I always brought the clothes that could no longer fit me or clothes I got as a present but knew I'd never wear to these recycle bins. My perception was always that it was a double win because it was a "donation" bin, donations in the form of clothes from me to another child who would then receive it for free, plus the fact it would be worn by someone half way around the world instead of ending up in a dump somewhere in Europe. What a sweet summer child I was:

But in all honesty, I still don't really know. I still after four years of researching and pondering this question can't 100% say what the reason is behind their logic. Maybe it's a combination of factors. Maybe they have a lot more to hide, think the data from their entire process which creates their products is too sensitive and risky in a third party's hands along with the fact that luxury brands, unlike most other businesses, can actually afford to spend way more and create their own system to eliminate all the before mentioned possible dilemmas. As to why other luxury brands are jumping aboard the Aura-train may be relevant to how the German car industry operates. You see, many of these companies have their own brand, but in reality many of the smaller parts that make up the final product hail from one and the same source. Just like how the engines of e.g. Audi and Volkswagen are made in one and the same factory, a lot of these fashion brands get the raw materials/labour for their final products from one and the same factory/country as well and they of course know this.

In closing and to try and remain fair, most of these luxury brands keep their supply chain a secret with minimal info provided to protect their brand, but you have to ask yourself, what good does the info they provide from their blockchain do you then? Unless of course you are overly paranoid and want to be 100% sure the official Louis Vuitton stores are not selling you counterfeit products, you are really providing them with more valuable info than they are you, which again prompts me to think this occult way of handling is exactly why they chose to exclude existing blockchains, to keep both current data and all future data they will gather well hidden from the outside world by teaming up together in Aura to sort of "keep it in the family."