Podium Master Thread

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This thread is the Podium Master Thread for you to discuss intel on product offerings at the Podium event.

For reference, here's a brief primer on Podium Order (PO) vs Special Order (SO):

Podium Order

i thought pos aren't really an "order" yet, until it is approved by paris, hence they can only "cancel" it after the order has been placed by the sm (not the client).

According to my sas, whom have explained the whole podium process with me quite clearly. (things can differ a little from country to country, but i think the general picture is the same)

1) regular clients submit/express their "wishlist" to the sms before they go off to paris at each podium. But you don't have to do it in jan/jun, you can tell them i really want x anytime, say in march (just after the feb podium), and the sm will just have to note it down, and then order it at the next podium (july), so the wait to see whether this order has been approved is, of course, a lot longer than say, if you have told the sm in jan. At this point, this is still a "wishlist", not an "order". I know people like to say that "i am going to order this and that", but bare in mind, nothing is an "order" until paris has approved it, before then, it is still your "wishlist".

2)the sms take this wishlist to the podium with them, and see what's availabld to order, then match this with the wishlist and submit their orders for the next season. (feb for aw, july for ss)

3) once these orders have been approved by paris, they will become an "ordered book/list", which are all the items that the store will/should receive for the entire coming season. Hence, everything on this list is "approved", so if your item appears on this list, then it is now an order. So your sm will be able to tell you whether the item you have asked for has been approved or not at this stage.

4)as you can see, this order list is for next season, so there is at least a 6month wait for whatever you've ordered. Some people said they've only waited a month after they have submitted their "order", but to my understanding, it is not the item that the sm has ordered for this client at this particular podium, it is merely an item from the current or past season, which hasn't been spoken for, and has just arrived and happened to match the client's "wishlist", hence, was offered to this client, so she didn't have to wait for the one which the sm has ordered for next season to arrive.

5)sometimes, things that the sms have ordered just never arrive at the store for no reason, some are actively canceled by paris, some are delayed for more than 2 seasons.(aka pending orders from previous seasons) so i guess, you can call all these scenarios as an order being canceled by paris.

6) clients are generally told that pos take 6months ~2 years to arrive, because the order can be delayed for many seasons, but most of the stock should arrive within the next season

7) special order is a totaly different route, and hence whatever i have written does not apply to sos.

8) every country has a different policy for their "waitinglist" or "list" (however you want to call it)

a) some store let a very small amount of client to choose from their ordered stock list for the coming season, (but you can only choose from certain colours/leather/size/hw) so the chance of getting what you have chosen is very high.

B)some stores from time to time ask their clients what they want, and keeps a list of client name with their "wishes", and may use this as their guide at each podium, but you can submit your wishlist in ss11, but sm might not have ordered it till ss12, so you dont' know how long you'll wait for this item. Not everyone can go on this list.

C)some stores (like taiwan) let everyone put their wishlist down, you don't have to be a regular client to submit your wishlist. It is a merely a record of clients who wants b/ks. They don't use it to make orders at the podium, it is not an order list, not a waitinglist, it does not mean you will get this item for sure, it is just a client list, just in case one day a vip turns down a bag that the sm has ordered for her, the sas will then go to this list, and call those who also wanted the same bag.

9) can you change your order once it has been placed at the podium? I am not 100% sure about this, but my guess is no, once it is ordered by the sm and once the sm has left paris, it can't be changed. But if you are lucky, if there's something else that matches your criteria in the same poidum ordered list, and hasn't been spoken for, then the sm might offer that bag to you, or if you are a vip, they will re-order it for you at the next podium.

Ok, keep in mind, this might not apply to all stores and even whatever the sm has ordered, might be altered by paris without prior notice. (ie changing the hw, or the size or the leather etc)

Special Order


I have explianed previously how POs worked; Now I will explain how the current SO works in my country:

SMs are informed the number of b/k they are allocated for next season at each podium. Say a store has 50 b/k, it is up to the SM how many b/k she/he wants to order at the podium. For example 40 was ordered, then the store has 10 quota available for SOs. Which is why SOs are usually ordered after the SMs have returned from Paris. They are also not allowed to order anything "regular" through SOs now, ie if it was available to order at the podium, then such bag should only be ordered at the podium and not hogging up another SO quota. Appeareantly this rule is quite recent.

As we all know, since last year, Hermes introduced this SO online system, which allows SA to submit their applications online and it also tells us what can be ordered. (ie, if it was not an option on that system, then it is not available to order) This system puts a limit on many criterias, so we are not as free as we were in the past to order whatever we want. If you want to order something even more special, then it is customised order, which is so rare that each store only gets 1 quota per season or year (can't remember sorry)

Unlike in the past, you can have many options to play around with the bag in different colours. Now you only have 5 options.

1) single colour in a SO only colour/leather

2)Bi-colour:
a) Exterior in one colour, and lining/piping in another colour (if contrast piping is requested, it has to go with the lining colour. No contrast in piping is accepted)
b) Exterior in one colour, and lining, straps, handles, piping in another colour
c) Exterior in two colours (3 sides/ colour) and lining, straps, handels, piping is the same as the sides.

3)tri-colour:
Exterior in three colours, (2 sides/colour) and lining, straps, handels, piping is the same as the sides.


So, we can no longer get a tri colour in exterior in one colour, straps handles in one and lining in another.

You can still choose the hardwares and the stitching. But again they have a list of available colours for stitching should you want to choose another colour other than the default stitching.

They also removed the option of exotics from SO (as of late 2011). So we will see less and less of tri and bi colours exotics now (I am not sure how these can be ordered now, I didn't ask)

Box was also not on that list (as of late 2011), so box can only be ordered at the podium.

Chevre is only available up to size 30 for Birkin.

The SAs have a list of available colours/leathers, so you can only pick from that list, anything that's not on the list can't be ordered.

You can mix and match any colour as long as they are on the list.

The system will give you an instant approval and also give you a not so accurate ETA date.

However Paris can still cancel it BUT they don't generally do so. So once you are on the sytem, you are quite safe.

What I have just typed doesn't apply to anything that was not ordered through that SO system.

(As of late 2011) The wait is also much much shorter than the past, both of my SOs which were ordered through this sytem, arrived within a year, one of them only took less than 7 months.


Here's an explanation of Podium vs Rack.
 
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I LOVE BG as well, as matter of fact, I won a couple bags in BG. My only complain with BG is that it is too light and gets dirty easily, Just curious if it would be "redundant" if I get GM. Sounds like GM might be on my hunting list.. Thanks again.

Anytime! I don't think it would be redundant, but it really depends on what you like. If you love gray like I do, there's definitely room for GM! While I love BG, it is too light for me. I don't baby my bags so I need something that will take a bit more love ;)
 
GM is a darker than BG, but GM is not a dark gray per se. Also, BG has much more blue. GM is a true gray where as BG, to me is a light grayish blue (that I also absolutely love). I have not had the chance to see etain and GM side by side, but I bet that if anyone tried that experiment, GM will make etain look more brown than gray. I also think GM is lighter than etain. In terms of scale of lighter to darker, I would put GM at a 5-6. It really is beautiful if you like grays. Hope that helps!
So I saw all three and yes 5/6 is accurate.
 
some fast forward Intel for SS17~~

- bleu Zenzibar is the new bleu, from the photo is on the bright side similar to bleu hydra, just a tad lighter
- terre cuite will be butler leather, new color for butler
- lots of lime!! Lime lime lime everything
- rose lipstick chèvre definitely is there, rose azalea been seen on SLG again, no news on bags
- new beige zabriske on Hunter Leather, can't tell but seems like a true beige, argile family
- rose gold hardware on some bags flèche d'or and Cherche midi
- some new verso series with Black Box with terre cuite lining!! Include plume and bolide 1923
- black matte souple croc with terre cuite! Lindy toolbox and picotin!!
- extremely colorful combo!! Imagine a jige with 7 colors
- states of the arts 8 leather Birkin only comes in b30 and OnLy green interior with Rose Lipstick, awwwwwwwwwww
Lisse croc, matte croc, lizard, clemence, box, negonda, chèvre and swift

Thanks pretty99! Just want to confirm the 8 leather one will only be green exterior and pink interior? Thanks.
 
I hope your dream comes true! That would be beautiful!!!!
Thank you Israeli_Flava. The bag in your avatar is beautiful :heart:and one of the reasons I would like a strong pink but unfortunatelly none were available last PO in February.
I was told by one of the SAs at my store they rarely get to do an SO so PO is my only option.
I do have some other colours as well on my list this time around, including strong- or dark blue so if pink is not available this time around hopefully one of the other colours are. If not I will have to wait until February PO next year. B or K shopping truely tests ones resiliance and patience:smile:.
 
Thank you Israeli_Flava. The bag in your avatar is beautiful :heart:and one of the reasons I would like a strong pink but unfortunatelly none were available last PO in February.
I was told by one of the SAs at my store they rarely get to do an SO so PO is my only option.
I do have some other colours as well on my list this time around, including strong- or dark blue so if pink is not available this time around hopefully one of the other colours are. If not I will have to wait until February PO next year. B or K shopping truely tests ones resiliance and patience:smile:.
Yes, sometimes it feels like such a struggle to get what one's heart truly desires. All I can say is keep trying and keep asking.
Thank u re: my RS SO. She is truly a thing of beauty and I stare at her at times and can't believe she is mine. Oh how I longed for her... and poof... Rose Shocking was offered for a split second... and my SA recognized that I'd never get that color if I didn't get a SO. I had talked to her about a "pink Birkin" for a year. Everytime she offered me a bag, I said no.. pleeeeease I want pink. When I heard RS was being offered as a SO color, I asked her can I order one (begged)... The moon and stars aligned.
So as I continue on this H journey I realize that colors come back around... some faster than others. And this makes me pump my breaks. I really love Lagon. I have been tempted on the reseller market but honestly... I don't want to support resellers, I don't want anything used, and I can't afford to spend that much on one bag (& I just won't) hahahaha.
Anyway, the color will come back..or something v similar. And I will pounce. hahahaha Sorry for rambling but I encourage you to keep talking to your SA/SM about how much you love RL. Beat it into their heads subtly.... I know it will come true for you.
 
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Yes, sometimes it feels like such a struggle to get what one's heart truly desires. All I can say is keep trying and keep asking.
Thank u re: my RS SO. She is truly a thing of beauty and I stare at her at times and can't believe she is mine. Oh how I longed for her... and poof... Rose Shocking was offered for a split second... and my SA recognized that I'd never get that color if I didn't get a SO. The moon and stars aligned. So as I continue on this H journey I realize that colors come back around... some faster than others. And this makes me pump my breaks. I really love Lagon. I have been tempted ont he reseller market but honestly... it will come back..or something v similar. And I will pounce. hahahaha Sorry for rambling but I encourage you to keep talking to your SA/SM about how much you love RL. Beat it into their heads subtly.... I know it will come true for you.

Thank you, I hope so too. I don´t think you ramble at all, I am happy for all the advise you can give. I had strong pink on my list and had written both RL, RS and RT as examples of strong pinks. In December I initially asked if it was possible to wish for a bicolour bag like yours since I wanted a combo of strong pink and strong blue and that was when I found out they rarely get to do any SO. I sent an e-mail to my SA yesterday to ask if she has any news for SS17´s orders as she went directly to vacation after the Paris trip and I anyway also needed to e-mail since I wanted her to order a special thing for me that we had been discussing earlier.
 
Thank you, I hope so too. I don´t think you ramble at all, I am happy for all the advise you can give. I had strong pink on my list and had written both RL, RS and RT as examples of strong pinks. In December I initially asked if it was possible to wish for a bicolour bag like yours since I wanted a combo of strong pink and strong blue and that was when I found out they rarely get to do any SO. I sent an e-mail to my SA yesterday to ask if she has any news for SS17´s orders as she went directly to vacation after the Paris trip and I anyway also needed to e-mail since I wanted her to order a special thing for me that we had been discussing earlier.
Ultimately your SA/SM will recognize your love for the brand. Hopefully this will push them to offer that special RL to the one that truly deserves to have it... the one that will cherish it. You.
 
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