► What do handbags and Ferrari cars have in common?
► The odd world of elite luxury
► And how to bag an Icona
I’m not sure how many readers of CAR are following the landmark lawsuit currently rocking the world of handbags, so let me clue you in. It revolves around a handbag called the Hermès Birkin, named after British actress and singer Jane Birkin, who passed away last year.
The star of movies as varied as Blow-Up and Death on the Nile, Birkin is probably best known for marrying French singer Serge Gainsbourg and whispering ‘Je t’aime’ over and over again in the cult song, Je t’Aime… Moi Non Plus.
Anyways, Birkin was on a flight from Paris to London in 1984 when she happened to sit next to Louis Dumas, artistic director and chairman of Hermès, the luxury French design house. During the flight she explained to Dumas why, as a busy mum, she couldn’t find a practical handbag to carry everything around. So Dumas sketched a new style of bag for her and the Birkin was born.
Now, in my opinion the bag Dumas drew wasn’t anything extraordinary – it’s really just a rectangular leather shoebox with a flap lid and a handle. But then, what do I know? Over the last 40 years the Birkin has become a truly bewitching item in the world of handbags, with an extraordinary cult appeal.
On paper, prices start around £10k, but Hermès has used ‘scarcity marketing’ in a masterful way. Secondhand prices are just extraordinary. I casually Googled them and saw a used one for £322,000. That’s right, over quarter of a million for a shoebox with a handle.
But not everyone wants to buy secondhand, and it’s the new market that’s caused the lawsuit. That’s because you can’t just go out and buy a Birkin, you have to be invited to buy one, before you can join fellow owners like Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham. And to be invited, you have to play the game.
One American luxury website (madisonavenuecouture.com) spells it out. First, you have to nurture a close relationship with your Hermès sales associate, or SA. ‘With an SA on your side, many things are eventually possible,’ the site warmly advises. And how do you develop such a relationship?
‘Make sure you dress well when visiting the boutique, preferably in Hermès clothing and shoes… Make multiple purchases at the same Hermès boutique, ideally with the same SA, to establish a purchasing history… Purchase from a wide range of Hermès products so you don’t appear interested only in getting a Birkin bag… Once you have fully demonstrated your love for the entire Hermès brand through many, many purchases in several different departments, you are guaranteed a happy SA but not necessarily a Birkin… However, it is reliably reported that spending a cool six figures plus at an Hermès boutique may make some bags reserved for VIPs available to you.’
Now, two Californian shoppers have grown tired of this game and are telling Hermès to shove their purchasing profile up their SA. A lawsuit filed in San Francisco argues that this practice of tying the offer of a Birkin to other purchases puts the French brand in violation of US anti-trust laws.
But you know what really struck me when reading about this? It was how this practice has been going on in the world of high-end supercars for generations, and no one questions it. Anyone with the money can go in and buy a Ferrari 296 GTB, but the limited-edition Monza or Daytona SP3? These exclusive Icona models are – in Ferrari’s own words – ‘aimed solely at Ferrari’s top clients and collectors, proud ambassadors for the Prancing Horse marque’.
In other words, only if you have a private collection of Ferraris would you be deemed ‘worthy’ and receive a Willy Wonka golden ticket in the post, saying ‘Congratulations! We’re going to allow you to buy our $2 million car’. And let’s not single out Ferrari – all the supercar brands use this approach, creating a top tier of super-collectors, an elite club that requires spending that runs into many millions of dollars before you can join.
Hilariously, Ferrari describes its approach with the words, ‘The Icona cars all boast exclusive solutions not seen in the rest of the range.’ It’s certainly a ‘solution’ for the luxury brands. Kerr-ching!