Compared to other luxury brands that had one to three percent sales increases over the past three or four years, Hermes showed growth of 20 to 30 percent, according to global consulting firm Bain & Company in January. (Image Courtesy of Wikipedia)
SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Hermès, a French high fashion brand, has proven to be an exception to the downturn in South Korea’s luxury market, industry officials said on Tuesday.
Compared to other luxury brands that had one to three percent sales increases over the past three or four years, Hermès showed growth of 20 to 30 percent, according to global consulting firm Bain & Company in January. The company’s sales rose 25.7 percent in 2012, 31.1 percent in 2013, 32.7 percent in 2014, and then 27.9 percent in 2015.
Department store officials say much of Hermès’ popularity comes from its handbags – in particular, its Birkin bag. Officials report 1,000 people in South Korea are currently on the waiting list for one of the bags, but three to four years ago, unable to meet the impossibly high demand, the stores stopped taking reservations.
“We are hard-pressed to be able to deliver on reservations made years ago,” an official at a Hermès store in Seoul said. “So we stopped taking reservations altogether.”
A Birkin bag is locally priced at 13 million won (US$10,975), with crocodile-skin models selling for as much as 70 million won.
By M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
