A Californian lady named Tina Cavalleri was caught off guard at a Hermes branch she visited to buy the French luxury brand’s famed Birkin bag. She was told that only customers with a “sufficient purchase history” can purchase the item. She got so upset that she even reached out to its U.S. headquarters, but it only gave her the very same reply.
French high-end fashion brand Hermes faced a class-action lawsuit in the United States due to its marketing strategy of selling its signature bag, Birkin. Cavalleri and her fellow plaintiff Mark Glinoga filed a lawsuit against the brand with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, arguing that it is unfair to choose to whom it sells the Birkin selectively, reported The Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The cost of Birkin bags ranges from 15 million won to hundreds of millions won in South Korea, for example. Even so, it is by far one of the most beloved bags across the globe. Even if you are loaded enough to buy this high-end bag inspired by British-French singer, actress, and style icon Jane Birkin (1946-2023), you will likely have to wait up to more than a year.
The Birkin is not on display for sale in the brand’s offline stores. What’s more, it is not available online as well. The plaintiffs argued that Hermes exclusively shows the item in a private room to clients who think they deserve to purchase the bag, criticizing this sales strategy as a downright unfair marketing act.
The plaintiffs also claimed that the brand violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, adding that it has adopted a strategy to supply way less than market demand to strengthen its market dominance and thus, in effect, force consumers to buy the brand’s other items.
Hermes has not responded to the litigation yet, said The Bloomberg.
김보라記者 purple@donga.com
