Price Increase Update

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#92
debwonger said:
OK, so I have a silly question - which I think I already know the answer to - if the increase is due to the declining USD, if/when our economy picks up again (let's say it goes back to a more reasonable $1 to 1.25 EUR or something), will H adjust their prices back down? Has a price decrease ever happened historically? Or, more likely, would Europe would raise their prices and the whole bloody cycle starts all over again?
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In Canada, Hermes adjusted the prices down about 10% nearly a year ago as the Canadian dollar rose against the Euro.
 
#93
It really is going to happen. I was in my H shop yesterday and w/o even asking my DSA told about the 2, yes, 2 increases looming on the horizon - one starting in Aug and the other in Feb. It will be 6-8% both times. :cursing:I will be doing some major shopping between now and Aug. I really find these increases a bit insulting. The Chanel increases for Fall are insulting as well. My DSA there told me that a gorgeous coat I recently got for 4500 would be going for about 6500-7000 if it was part of the Fall line up. Who's going to organize the revolution? :woohoo:
 
#95
guccigal07 said:
Do you think people will start pulling back at these prices?
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I certainly will. It's not even that I can't afford it, it's just ridiculous to spend so much on a product. Add in the dismissive customer service one sometimes gets, and hey -- I'll just throw my money in a pile instead of forking it over for a few pounds of leather.
 
#96
Like Katel, I am glad I purchased the bags I did over the past few years. Although my real disappointment is that my beloved Bolides may also be out of reach in the future, too. :crybaby:

I don't think that they are driving up the prices to make the brand more exclusive - they are opening new stores across the globe. I wonder how much labor costs come in to play - it is the most expensive component of any business and it is not a secret that good talent (not even the best of the best) is hard to come by.

I do also wonder if the reseller market has an influence here - there are so many who are willing to pay a premium for the bags on the secondary market - why not take advantage of it as the primary source. :shrugs:

All this being said, I think my days of purchasing H items are numbered and I shall count my lucky stars that I can view the craftsmanship of H via tpf!
 
#97
I also feel the price increase is getting ridiculous. The price of a non-exotic birkin is close to doubling from 4 years ago. They say it is due to the weakening value of the US dollar.

The high price sometimes nulls the charm, fun and pleasure of aquiring these bags.
 
#98
Is this a global increase? Two/three times a year increase is insane, since the items are very highly priced to begin with. I´ll just buy less and less from a store and everything used.
 
#99
mhmm. we will buy anyways i remmeber times a croc kelly (yes croc) was around 8.000 $ and see the salesfigures of h nowadays. price increases are always despised but in the end if you love the product you will swallow it get over it until the next increase when the mourning starts again.
that is why i stopped looking at pricetags :p
 
#100
They always say it's the exchange rate, but it's baloney. The last price increase came after the Euro lept up to around $1.55 (from the $1.25 area), and that's where it's still sitting all these months later. Also, European inflation is low this year, around 3% on average, so they can't really justify three price increases in a year.

They're doing it simply because they'll be able to get away with it. When you start digging around the higher-priced brands, you'll see that it's a common practice to increase prices just to make yourself look more luxurious and exclusive. It also helps to lure those customers that really do believe that price is indicative of overall quality and not just marketing.

I always come back to Kooba or Coach as examples of upgrading the brand and charging more. Kooba started out being made in Italy, and the retail price was around $250. As the bags became more popular, they shifted the manufacturing over to China, and the prices then doubled. Coach was all American at one time, and then they got trendy and popular, they closed their factories here in favor of China, and whoa did those prices go through the roof. Their profits did as well.

And ITA that the higher prices can really dull the charm. The margins are already high, and then they take them higher. Do I want to make them richer or myself?


jaegerhomme said:
I also feel the price increase is getting ridiculous. The price of a non-exotic birkin is close to doubling from 4 years ago. They say it is due to the weakening value of the US dollar.

The high price sometimes nulls the charm, fun and pleasure of aquiring these bags.
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#101
I don't always look at the price tag, but at some point you have to really start thinking that you may just be getting ripped off. Luxury retailers/brands are into it for the higher margins, and when they're far outstripping inflation or exchange rates, it's more about the CEO's report to the shareholders than anything else. It's not like they're increasing the quality, it's just the price.

lilach said:
mhmm. we will buy anyways i remmeber times a croc kelly (yes croc) was around 8.000 $ and see the salesfigures of h nowadays. price increases are always despised but in the end if you love the product you will swallow it get over it until the next increase when the mourning starts again.
that is why i stopped looking at pricetags :p
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#104
what!! another price increase! things are already ridiculously expensive as it is... they are really trying to kill us with these price increase aren't they.

someone should let Hermes know that the US's economy isnt exactly in top shape right now, if there is a time in the last few years that they should hold prices steady would be now...argh >_<
 
#105
Ammietwist said:
I don't always look at the price tag, but at some point you have to really start thinking that you may just be getting ripped off. Luxury retailers/brands are into it for the higher margins, and when they're far outstripping inflation or exchange rates, it's more about the CEO's report to the shareholders than anything else. It's not like they're increasing the quality, it's just the price.
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i know but h (or other superficial items) is a want not a need and those items are not calculated they are placed in the market ! in the end the customer has to decide what any given item is worth to him/her and as i said a kelly croc once was 8k you do not even get a non exotic anymore for this price and in 10 years you will proudly tell your children that you were once able to get a leather birkin for 10 k - either this or people do not want to fullfill ther wants anymore and go back to concentrate on the needs. you never know.

another idea is that h became too popular too fast (kind of masstige problem)and they are loosing their core clientele (like tiffanys and cartier back then) and now want to readjust and price the new customers out of the market - again just an idea but with the new strategy seen on their upper spectrum maybe likely
 
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