Hermes, a French high fashion brand, has proven to be a rare exception to the downturn in the luxury market, its trademark handmade handbags having long run out of stock in South Korea, industry officials said Tuesday.
Global consulting firm Bain & Company in January estimated that the world's luxury market sales stopped at 1-2 percent growth last year, down from 7 percent two years before. Hermes, however, has displayed high and continued sales growth, at least in South Korea, data from local department stores showed.
Compared with other luxury brands that marked 1-3 percent sales increases over the past 3-4 years, Hermes logged 20 to 30 percent-range jumps in the same period. In 2012, its sales rose 25.7 percent. The boom continued in 2013 to a 31.1 percent increase, 32.7 percent in 2014 and 27.9 percent in 2015.
Department store officials say much of Hermes' popularity comes from its handbags. The fashion house has a waiting list for people wanting to buy a Birkin bag, but according to the officials, the stores stopped taking reservations three to four years ago because they could not meet the high demand.
"We are hard pressed to be able to deliver on reservations made years ago," an official at a Hermes store in Seoul said. "We stopped taking reservations some time ago."
A Birkin bag is locally priced at 13 million won ($10,975). A crocodile skin model goes for as high as 70 million won.
Data from department stores say more than 1,000 people in South Korea are on the waiting list to buy a Birkin.
"Regardless of the economic slump, the top 1 percent is in its own league," an industry official said. "After some of the luxury brands have become accessible to more people willing to stretch their budgets, the top rich are looking to differentiate themselves by going for the super luxury." (Yonhap)
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