It's a really beautiful scarf. Is someone here bidding on it despite the suspicions of shill bidding?
I almost made a thread recently wondering about how organizations go about getting commemerative scarves made for them. I've quite a few now...from the SCAD scarves to the Central Park Conservancy scarves to the Charlotte Turandot and Palm Beach Polo scarves. Has anyone had any experience with this? I've recently become involved with a regional organization that seems well suited to support such an endeavor.
...hmmm I wonder when the supply will dry up? Are Amy and Randy busy in their basement?
Well, let's distinguish between a self-promotional scarf eg for the opening of a Hermes boutique, or one done by Hermes to benefit a charity of its own choosing (eg the New Orleans special issues, and the Conservancy too, I think), and one done for a independent organization.
Someone has to commission any new artwork (if it is a new design..) - don't know what that costs. The cheapest is select an existing design and add an inscription like Neiman's did with Cheval Fleuri.
The minimum quantity is 100 scarves, and someone has to pay for those 100 scarves AHEAD of time. I have heard that there is NO discount, but this could be inaccurate. But, obviously NM did not pay Hermes full retail for the Cheval Fleuri.
So, let's say the scarves cost $250 instead of the $345ish retail price. Someone has to pay $25,000+ UP FRONT.
Then you turn around and sell those 100 scarves at $350 and make $100/scarf, for a total of $10,000 - if you are lucky enough to sell them all.
The hard part is choosing a design. To give you an idea of this difficulty
- some people want a modern scarf - Atlanta Zoo chose the lime green Zebras II a few years - others HATE that choice
- others want a scarf that bears an obvious Hermes logo, eg the de Passage a Tokyo with the ginormous HERMES in the corner, or Bolduc au Carre with 5347 caleches on it - others would rather wear a dishrag than a logo laden scarf
- what color ? black is universally popular in the US, but EVERYONE already has a black scarf... how about lime green ?
Well, anyway you get the idea, if you know someone with $20,000-$40,000 to bankroll the scarves, then he/she gets to pick the design and hopefully it will be popular choice and you will not have excess inventory on it, like is obviously the case with the SCAD scarf.
love your comments, MT, always right to the point!