The retail industry can be fickle, especially when you considering the ebb and flow of the international economy over the last 5 years. Many parts of retail sales have fallen, from clothing to makeup, however, the handbag industry has persevered to triumph consistently every year. One reason for this is the importance of handbags when it comes to celebrity status. For instance, Victoria Beckham produces a successful handbag line every season without fail. Do you ever see a celeb on the red carpet without a luxury handbag?
Even though this may seem circumstantial, there is hard data to back this up – and it’s coming from auction houses all over the world. An article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal speaks to a recent flurry of high-priced luxury designer handbags selling at auction houses. One company in Dallas, TX, broke records in sales:
“… a red crocodile skin Hermes Birkin bag set a world auction record when it sold for $203,150. A blue crocodile version at the same auction sold for $113,525, and a shiny red crocodile Birkin fetched $95,600. That 2007 sale convinced Christie’s to get in this game, and there is a London auction planned by Christie’s for November with 70 bags by Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.”
The article says that this trend is strange, mostly because these bags are not considered vintage by any means, being made solely in the last 20 years or so. The high prices come from the limited nature of release by major brands like Hermes, which limits the number of bags made. The results being shown by auction houses bodes well for retailers and boutiques that carry western style handbags:
“The really tried and true pieces hold their value and increase their value over time. There’s a huge market for these pieces. Depending on the brand, the model and the piece, a seller can get between 50 and 120 cents on the dollar.”
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