Lining up for Hermes - thoughts, rants, raves

[PJW5813]

When the Morgan Car company had a waiting list years long, the former head of ICI, Sir John Harvey-Jones suggested that the prices should be increased until the number of people prepared to buy the cars matched the rate of production.
That would be a solution: 50,000+ for a non-exotic Kelly, Birkin or Constance?

 

[justpeachy4397]

When the Morgan Car company had a waiting list years long, the former head of ICI, Sir John Harvey-Jones suggested that the prices should be increased until the number of people prepared to buy the cars matched the rate of production.
That would be a solution: 50,000+ for a non-exotic Kelly, Birkin or Constance?

This reminds me of a rule of thumb I learned at a successful real estate fund manager re: apartments. You never want 100% occupancy. If all your units are rented, it means you aren't charging enough. Aim for high 90% occupancy and that's your sweet spot between pricing and demand.

 

[maplemoose]

We belong to the group that can't handle the complicated stressful situation. We decided not to visit Paris this summer. It helps to save some money as an extra bonus...

 

[Mousy]

There was a line outside Goyard London store today when I walked pass it. The store itself didn't even look busy inside. Must be a new trend so it seems!

I've noticed the lines outside flagship luxury stores and boutiques (even Longchamp inside Galleries LaFayette in Paris) ever since my childhood, and now I'm 51 years old.

About six years ago I toured the LV museum, while there I asked about the lack of clientele inside luxury boutiques while the line outside is a block long. I was told it comes down to two things- shoplifting/snatch and run issues, and too many clients being shown products lessens the ability for the SA's to show their client items. They can't show you two or three bags when other SA's have those bags out showing their clients. Then when other SA's are finished, who gets to see the bags next, if many SA's have been waiting?

I hope they go to online appointments booking. Imho, the lines look tacky and people abuse them by having one person hold spaces for several people interested in purchasing. Yes, I am that person who has waited dutifully in line, has had a woman in front of me invite five young and able bodied people/families, who were maybe on the same tour, to stand with her after they strike up a conversation outside the ropes.

I haven't waiting in a line for at least 20 years. I don't have the patience or the want of a bag (that much).

If the queues must continue, a hand stamp or something should happen.

 

[chicinthecity777]

Exactly! So many other brands do this so I don't understand why everyone is so mad at Hermes!

Goyard has the same policy in London; the Mount Street shop is tiny and it's more like a few people looking at the window than a line

Goyard Paris has a line too. They limit the number of customers inside to match the available SAs I believe. Since there aren't that many SAs to begin with the store looks kind of empty from the outside.

I've noticed the lines outside flagship luxury stores and boutiques (even Longchamp inside Galleries LaFayette in Paris) ever since my childhood, and now I'm 51 years old.

About six years ago I toured the LV museum, while there I asked about the lack of clientele inside luxury boutiques while the line outside is a block long. I was told it comes down to two things- shoplifting/snatch and run issues, and too many clients being shown products lessens the ability for the SA's to show their client items. They can't show you two or three bags when other SA's have those bags out showing their clients. Then when other SA's are finished, who gets to see the bags next, if many SA's have been waiting?

I hope they go to online appointments booking. Imho, the lines look tacky and people abuse them by having one person hold spaces for several people interested in purchasing. Yes, I am that person who has waited dutifully in line, has had a woman in front of me invite five young and able bodied people/families, who were maybe on the same tour, to stand with her after they strike up a conversation outside the ropes.

I haven't waiting in a line for at least 20 years. I don't have the patience or the want of a bag (that much).

If the queues must continue, a hand stamp or something should happen.

This thread really fascinates me!
The Goyard store definitely had a proper line outside. Nobody was peaking through the windows. Nobody was even close to the windows. It must the security guard who asked them to form a queue there. Very orderly. I don't shop at Goyard but them trying to match the number of clients inside the store with the number of SAs available there makes sense to me. There really isn't much difference from what Hermes is doing. Hermes don't have unlimited number of SAs inside the store, so they have the appointment system so anybody who is inside the store eventually for their appointment will have a SA to help them. The problem Hermes faces is really due to their own success. They can easily solve the queue problem by not selling to "walk-in" clients (for lack of better words) but they don't. They want to give more people chances to score their dream bags.

Some of the hatred displayed towards Hermes in the thread is interesting. Personally, if I hate a company so much, I wouldn't spend a penny with them. I would just vote with my wallet. A very simple solution.

P.S. I have seen many queues outside luxury stores in Hong Kong from many years ago. Nothing new really.

 

[Oryx816]

This thread really fascinates me!
The Goyard store definitely had a proper line outside. Nobody was peaking through the windows. Nobody was even close to the windows. It must the security guard who asked them to form a queue there. Very orderly. I don't shop at Goyard but them trying to match the number of clients inside the store with the number of SAs available there makes sense to me. There really isn't much difference from what Hermes is doing. Hermes don't have unlimited number of SAs inside the store, so they have the appointment system so anybody who is inside the store eventually for their appointment will have a SA to help them. The problem Hermes faces is really due to their own success. They can easily solve the queue problem by not selling to "walk-in" clients (for lack of better words) but they don't. They want to give more people chances to score their dream bags.

Some of the hatred displayed towards Hermes in the thread is interesting. Personally, if I hate a company so much, I wouldn't spend a penny with them. I would just vote with my wallet. A very simple solution.

P.S. I have seen many queues outside luxury stores in Hong Kong from many years ago. Nothing new really.

This! In Bangkok this lining up system has been going on for years. They allow customers to match the amount of SAs to provide better service without interruption. There is nothing worse when shopping than someone horning in to get the SA's attention as some people without manners often do.

 

[zen1965]

So people camp outside overnight in H.K. and Bangkok? I have been to H.K. many times but I have never seen anybody sleep in front of Hermes in Central. In fact, i haven't even noticed a line outside.

Anyway, the circus in front of FSH is distateful and crass to me. And it is beyond me how anyone can defend linesitters to sell their one spot to several people.

 

[chicinthecity777]

So people camp outside overnight in H.K. and Bangkok? I have been to H.K. many times but I have never seen anybody sleep in front of Hermes in Central. In fact, i haven't even noticed a line outside.

Anyway, the circus in front of FSH is distateful and crass to me. And it is beyond me how anyone can defend linesitters to sell their one spot to several people.

Back in the days my UK home store had "lists". Twice a year when the "lists" were due to open, people camped outside the front door. Eventually they stopped "lists" so no more camping or queues. Problem solved.

I have read this thread from the very beginning and I haven't seen a post where people defended line-sitters selling spot to multiple people. Posters said they shouldn't be. But things like this do happen, even at Hermes VIP sales as members have told.

 

[EmileH]

I think portraying them as poor innocents just trying to "feed their families" is defending them. Unfortunately there is always a lot of anger hatred and judgmental behavior when discussing Hermes..

 

[lulilu]

Yes, the hatred and judgmentalism is rampant here, often clouding perceptions and remarks.

 

[Yoshi1296]

The fact that there are people camping in front of the store is just hilarious to me. Hermes is supposed to be the epitome of luxury but there just isn't anything "luxurious" about a bunch of people trying to stay warm in sleeping bags outside the store. There really isn't anything wrong with a normal line. It's what the lines in front of Hermes have become...a campground for people trying to make a few bucks. It's unsafe and inefficient even for the line sitter.

 

[zen1965]

I think portraying them as poor innocents just trying to "feed their families" is defending them. Unfortunately there is always a lot of anger hatred and judgmental behavior when discussing Hermes..

I agree with your take on linesitters. However, I feel hatred is a word too strong. People voice their opinion, which invoves some degree of judgement (not just when it comes to Hermes IMHO).

 

[mcmug17]

Exactly! So many other brands do this so I don't understand why everyone is so mad at Hermes!

Lining up before means allocating 3 hours of your day in the store.

Lining up today means you get there at 3am and stand there for 7.5 hours. If you're lucky, you'd be served immediately so you can go back to the hotel and sleep. If you're not lucky, you'd get an appointment for later in the day. You can't really nap much because you probably want to keep checking for the scheduled time to see if it's being moved up or down. The whole day is pretty much ruined.

It's a different game.

I'm not happy at H because they created a system that feeds right into the reseller's game.

 

[Scarf and Glove]

So people camp outside overnight in H.K. and Bangkok? I have been to H.K. many times but I have never seen anybody sleep in front of Hermes in Central. In fact, i haven't even noticed a line outside.

Anyway, the circus in front of FSH is distateful and crass to me. And it is beyond me how anyone can defend linesitters to sell their one spot to several people.

I was in HK in February, and was asked to wait on line outside the store by the front door( granted, I was the only one on line for a few minutes, then others lined up behind me.) My wait was about 5 minutes.
The store was not busy; it appeared to be a desire to have a SA available to assist you when you enter the store. That was nice, but also I was unable to wander around the store without having SA follow me absolutely everywhere, which I didn't care for.

 

[pinkiestarlet]

Sorry but I think it is unfair to compare to brands like LV and Goyard. Most of their coveted bags can be bought off the shelf, whereas you can't purchase a B/K/C as a walk-in in most stores. Maybe some people had but I'm very sure in Asia this would not happen unless you splash a huge amount on non-leather goods first. And most people in the queue outside of FSH tend to be from Asia (me too, same ethnic group lol).

If you have to compare, a good comparison will be with the Ginza store in Japan. It is rumored that they do sell B/K/C to walk-ins but I'm not sure if this is still true. When I visited that store about 4 years ago, I saw a queue forming at the front entrance just before it opened. The guards were giving out number tags and it was very orderly. I presume it was that calm only because you have to pay a premium, luxury goods are expensive in Japan, so there's not much incentive to purchase there.

Let's be honest here. The only reason why people are willing to queue at ungodly hours at FSH is because 1) there is a chance to score a B/K/C, albeit a very slim one and 2) the low price (way much lower as compared to their home store). There is NO WAY to stop this queue, physical or online (in the future I hope), unless FSH stops selling to walk-ins period.