Last month Chanel announced yet another price increase marking a total of four price hikes in the past 12 months. Since November 2019, the price of Chanel’s Medium Flap Bag in the U.S. has increased by 60 percent and goes for nearly the price of the Cadillac of designer bags, the Hermès Birkin, at a whopping USD $8,800 today. Of course, price increases are nothing new, but the exponential rate in which fashion houses are increasing the retail price of their goods is nothing short of unparalleled and a trend bags & leather goods enthusiasts have had to grow accustomed to.
若詢問品牌方：隨著生產成本飆升，品牌方以調漲售價作為回應。疫情引發的全球供應鏈問題導致原材料、製造成本與運輸費用飆升，是漲價的主因。2020年銷售下滑亦是因素之一。Chanel 國際銷售額大幅Chanel 尤其來自中國顧客的Chanel 。Chanel 發言人Chanel 漲價歸因於生產成本、匯率波動，以及確保其手袋在全球各地售價大致一致。
If you ask the market experts: there is another part of the story as well. Bags & Leather Goods analysts have attributed the rise in Chanel prices to an overall corporate strategy that aims to increase demand and establish exclusivity. In addition to price increases the brand has instituted purchase limits which is , “like telling consumers, if you can purchase a handbag, you belong to the club,” Gachoucha Kretz, associate marketing professor at business school HEC Paris, said. “Its iconic bags are best sellers.”
As shoppers look for more affordable options they often seek out the secondary market for alternatives to firsthand retail options. According to Neri Karra, an Associate Professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at IESEG School of Management in Paris “Bags & Leather Goods brands have also recognised this market [is one] to capitalise on: consumers who still want their products, but cannot afford the price tags of the brand-new ones,” Karra explains. “This is the reason we see things like the Kering Group investing into the second-hand Vestiaire Collective.”
If you are in the market for a bags & leather goods item on the secondary market we suggest checking out the Entrupy Verified Business directory. There are resellers listed from all over the world, you might just find that bag you are coveting, for a fraction of the original retail price.
