Lining up for Hermes - thoughts, rants, raves

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#406
prepster said:
Right, but understanding the topic of this thread, this is about the line. H is only constraining supply in worldwide boutiques. FSH has lots of supply, which is why instead of everyone staying home and shopping at their home store, everyone must fly to Paris and line up to get a bag. Hermes appears to be purposefully creating the line at FSH. I think the line will remain and the system will not improve until H concludes the line has served its purpose. Or it creates more problems for them than benefits.
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I see it in a different way. I don't think Paris is constraining the supply in worldwide boutiques. Hermes is trying to sell a life style rather than just bags and (some specific) bags happen to be their most coveted items so they try to find a balance between selling them to those agree with their overall style and keep them open to potential converters. I believe boutiques around the world always have decent amount of bags in the back room, but they're able to observe / select the customers that fit their image better, either taste / wealth / social status, because at the end of the day these customers will keep a more stable revenue for them to be able to obtain good or even better inventory thus revenue in the future.

The line in Paris is not only about inventory, but also about scoring that coveted bag in "Paris", the mother store. I heard that some people consider scoring a bag without any previous purchase history in Paris a triumph and now there are a group of people aiming for such triumph.

Maybe the best is for H to open a fixed number of bags to none regulars every day and have a lottery system online, instead of being chosen by SAs, let's do it the 21st century way. Whoever win the lottery come to the store to get the award and shower themselves with the envious staring. I'm being a bit sarcastic here and understand that it will of course result in some other issues, but at least there won't be the physical line drama and nobody has to stay in line for hours.
 
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#407
prepster said:
Right, but understanding the topic of this thread, this is about the line. H is only constraining supply in worldwide boutiques. FSH has lots of supply, which is why instead of everyone staying home and shopping at their home store, everyone must fly to Paris and line up to get a bag. Hermes appears to be purposefully creating the line at FSH. I think the line will remain and the system will not improve until H concludes the line has served its purpose. Or it creates more problems for them than benefits.
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H is not constraining the supply in worldwide boutiques to force people to go to Paris. H limits the amount of bags the boutiques can sell in order to sell from other categories in order for the house to stay around for another 100 years, they need to sell more than B/K and other bags. The chances of a walk in bag used to be the highest in Paris, hence the line. I actually think there's a better chance in NY these days or there was when the Euro was almost at parity. H was shipping a lot of stock to the US.

It's really a myth that there aren't bags, what's missing is the client relationships in the local stores-not the bags. There are ALWAYS bags, they may not be exactly what one wants in spec but there's hardly a worldwide shortage. H controls the stock, they control who can buy and when, they can say that a client must spend X to get Y. The line up in Paris is just a chance to circumvent H's rules but the chances seem to be more slim these days and really not worth the effort in my opinion. If someone enjoys H, there are more pleasant ways to shop. If someone doesn't want to buy anything else to get a bag, there are ways around that too and FSH is one of the ways they can try.
 
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#408
MrsOwen3 said:
H is not constraining the supply in worldwide boutiques to force people to go to Paris. H limits the amount of bags the boutiques can sell in order to sell from other categories in order for the house to stay around for another 100 years, they need to sell more than B/K and other bags. The chances of a walk in bag used to be the highest in Paris, hence the line. I actually think there's a better chance in NY these days or there was when the Euro was almost at parity. H was shipping a lot of stock to the US.

It's really a myth that there aren't bags, what's missing is the client relationships in the local stores-not the bags. There are ALWAYS bags, they may not be exactly what one wants in spec but there's hardly a worldwide shortage. H controls the stock, they control who can buy and when, they can say that a client must spend X to get Y. The line up in Paris is just a chance to circumvent H's rules but the chances seem to be more slim these days and really not worth the effort in my opinion. If someone enjoys H, there are more pleasant ways to shop. If someone doesn't want to buy anything else to get a bag, there are ways around that too and FSH is one of the ways they can try.
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Well stated. It's not like Hermes suddenly made bags so readily available in Paris that they created a stampede. What is astonishing is that people are willing to camp out overnight for the chance to ask for a bag given the fact that most of the people who ask still walk away empty handed.
 
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#409
Like many of you, I have never had a problem getting any H bag that I've wanted, they have always just been handed to me, and while I'm grateful for that "privilege"( or whatever one may call it) my heart just really goes out to all of those who so deeply desire a bag from H that they will put up with whatever crapola H is dishing out from one moment to the next to get it, including waiting for hours and hours in this line and possibly still walking away empty-handed.

I dare say I would not stand in a line like this for anything (maybe something necessary for survival?) but I respect those tremendously who do line up to get what they want, even knowing they may not be successful, and feel like I want to cheer them on. :hugs:I can't imagine the heartbreak of that, although it is palpable in some of the posts on the Paris shopping thread.

When I read about what goes on in this FSH line, I get very saddened and upset for all of our TPF friends. I refuse to simply acquiesce, and accept that selling products in this way is a necessary part of business. :no: H has created this mess, is aware of it, and needs to solve it in a kind, dignified way respectful of all human beings. I guess I just need to step away from it for awhile, because while I suspect that I am the proverbial H "desired demographic," and should be thrilled about that, I find myself becoming so increasingly disgusted and saddened by the attitude and the practices, that I'm in danger of wanting nothing to do with H. Maybe I just have to shut up about it and vote with my feet. :dog:
 
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#412
prepster said:
Like many of you, I have never had a problem getting any H bag that I've wanted, they have always just been handed to me, and while I'm grateful for that "privilege"( or whatever one may call it) my heart just really goes out to all of those who so deeply desire a bag from H that they will put up with whatever crapola H is dishing out from one moment to the next to get it, including waiting for hours and hours in this line and possibly still walking away empty-handed.

I dare say I would not stand in a line like this for anything (maybe something necessary for survival?) but I respect those tremendously who do line up to get what they want, even knowing they may not be successful, and feel like I want to cheer them on. :hugs:I can't imagine the heartbreak of that, although it is palpable in some of the posts on the Paris shopping thread.

When I read about what goes on in this FSH line, I get very saddened and upset for all of our TPF friends. I refuse to simply acquiesce, and accept that selling products in this way is a necessary part of business. :no: H has created this mess, is aware of it, and needs to solve it in a kind, dignified way respectful of all human beings. I guess I just need to step away from it for awhile, because while I suspect that I am the proverbial H "desired demographic," and should be thrilled about that, I find myself becoming so increasingly disgusted and saddened by the attitude and the practices, that I'm in danger of wanting nothing to do with H. Maybe I just have to shut up about it and vote with my feet. :dog:
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I really think you're taking this way too seriously, shopping for a bag isn't exactly a hardship-it's a choice that someone with the financial means gets to make for themselves. It's a choice to line up, not something H inflicted on anyone. H is focused on the customers inside the store where it was frequently miserable in the past with the long line winding around. I went mid day in Feb and the store was positively serene as was the staff.

As for H's target demographic, they are interested in clients who will be longtime customers or clients who will spend heavily in challenging categories like RTW, furnishings, watches. There's no specific criteria other than wanting to cultivate a lifelong client who will shop the entire store. All the bags are meant to last a very long time and outside of tPF there are plenty of people who are content with just one. The future of a business so steeped in handcraft requires that they have revenue from more than just leather goods and it's simply bad business to rely on one category to sustain a billion dollar company. If Chanel flaps/quilts go back out of style, Chanel will be in big, big trouble.

I personally don't find H's practices to be any different than other retailers who give preferential treatment to long time customers but as I've said repeatedly in various threads, if you wish to express to H that you don't agree with their practices-don't buy from them. That is where consumers have power, in their wallets. But it's unlikely that much will change and there will continue to be shoppers who are disappointed to not get the bags they want unless it's through other means.
 
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#413
Honestly, I don't understand why everyone is so upset about people lining up overnight. Yes, it's a bit weird and it decreases the chance of other people to get the bags that they want, but haven't we all done some crazy things to get our dream bag? Personally, I wouldn't line up overnight, but I understand why some people would want to.
 
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#415
allanrvj said:
Did anyone go to FSH today and can he or she give us an update on how the line situation is after the police work yesterday? :)
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My friend went to line up yesterday he said they didn't get the appointment - he was pretty close though, only 2 men away from getting the appointment and he went to queue up at 9:30[emoji23]

So guess that's a good sign?
 
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#419
allanrvj said:
When you go to Paris, you might want to check out Moynat. I was there last month and while I did not buy anything, I was so impressed by their SA's level of attentiveness, and the store's ambience--quiet and elegant. It's what Hermes should have been. Also, they have marquetry products that look unreal. Like this one, this is not painted on. It's actually separate pieces of differently colored leathers fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle:

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I highly recommend a visit to their store, even just to marvel at their products.
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Moynat employs some former H. leather artisans and designers. The quality is similiar and the prices are lower. If you google Moynat, you can read about it. I have several pieces.
 
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