Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Case-by-case basis for designer bags
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Eric Wilson
FOR products that are truly in demand, it may seem reasonable to limit the number a customer can buy at one time.
Now readers of the fine print on the websites of luxury retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are discovering that such a policy also applies to designer handbags such as Prada's latest ruched nylon styles, which cost $US1290 ($A1442); Bottega Veneta's signature woven leather hobos, at $US1490; and the new rectangular Yves Saint Laurent clutch, which looks like a postcard addressed to the designer (with a $US1395 stamp).
"Due to popular demand," potential shoppers are warned, "a customer may order no more than three units of these items every 30 days."
The bags may be popular, but how many customers who can afford them really want more than one?
On its face, the policy sounds odd; that is, because it really doesn't have anything to do with popular demand. Rather, it is the fear that foreign buyers, taking advantage of the severely weakened US dollar, will hoard the bags, then resell them in Europe or Asia, where the same items in Prada and Gucci stores typically cost 20 to 40% more.
The popular Yves Saint Laurent Downtown bag, restricted to three per customer at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, costs $US1495. At Harvey Nichols in London, the same bag is £910 (about $US1796).
Foreign tourists who are treating American department stores like a nationwide outlet sale have largely been viewed as beneficial to retailers, and by some estimates, those shoppers were the only bright spot in what was a feeble holiday sales season.
But that spending power has not been so welcome at luxury companies such as Gucci and Prada, which have spent the past decade trying to reach those customers in their home countries by opening expensive new shops throughout Europe and Asia.
Now those companies stand to suffer a sting from increasingly educated comparison shoppers, if not a more serious blow from a grey market of designer goods resold from American stores.
Ron Frasch, the chief merchant of Saks Fifth Avenue, which has 54 stores across the US, said the number of foreign shoppers trying to buy multiple items in stores was "pretty minor", but he added, "it is certainly an issue that we watch".
Besides restricting online sales, Saks may also deny a customer's purchases of duplicate merchandise in stores on a case-by-case basis. "What we try to do is use a lot of logic and common sense if we sense that someone is taking advantage," Mr Frasch said. "We monitor at the store level and at the corporate level for any patterns."
FOR products that are truly in demand, it may seem reasonable to limit the number a customer can buy at one time.
Now readers of the fine print on the websites of luxury retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are discovering that such a policy also applies to designer handbags such as Prada's latest ruched nylon styles, which cost $US1290 ($A1442); Bottega Veneta's signature woven leather hobos, at $US1490; and the new rectangular Yves Saint Laurent clutch, which looks like a postcard addressed to the designer (with a $US1395 stamp).
"Due to popular demand," potential shoppers are warned, "a customer may order no more than three units of these items every 30 days."
The bags may be popular, but how many customers who can afford them really want more than one?
On its face, the policy sounds odd; that is, because it really doesn't have anything to do with popular demand. Rather, it is the fear that foreign buyers, taking advantage of the severely weakened US dollar, will hoard the bags, then resell them in Europe or Asia, where the same items in Prada and Gucci stores typically cost 20 to 40% more.
The popular Yves Saint Laurent Downtown bag, restricted to three per customer at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, costs $US1495. At Harvey Nichols in London, the same bag is £910 (about $US1796).
Foreign tourists who are treating American department stores like a nationwide outlet sale have largely been viewed as beneficial to retailers, and by some estimates, those shoppers were the only bright spot in what was a feeble holiday sales season.
But that spending power has not been so welcome at luxury companies such as Gucci and Prada, which have spent the past decade trying to reach those customers in their home countries by opening expensive new shops throughout Europe and Asia.
Now those companies stand to suffer a sting from increasingly educated comparison shoppers, if not a more serious blow from a grey market of designer goods resold from American stores.
Ron Frasch, the chief merchant of Saks Fifth Avenue, which has 54 stores across the US, said the number of foreign shoppers trying to buy multiple items in stores was "pretty minor", but he added, "it is certainly an issue that we watch".
Besides restricting online sales, Saks may also deny a customer's purchases of duplicate merchandise in stores on a case-by-case basis. "What we try to do is use a lot of logic and common sense if we sense that someone is taking advantage," Mr Frasch said. "We monitor at the store level and at the corporate level for any patterns."
Labels: authentic yves saint laurent bag, ysl handbags, yves saint laurent handbags
# posted by Give Me Something to Blog About @ 9:45 PM 
