The COVID-19 pandemic has yet to dampen demand for luxury goods resales

When professional gambler Vegas Dave spent US$500,000 (Southward$711,000) on the world's most expensive bag, a diamond-studded Himalayan Birkin, he viewed it equally i of the all-time marketing tools out there.

READ> Your designer handbag could fetch you improve returns than your property

"I was watching sports with a female friend of mine, we saw someone in the audience with a Birkin Bag and she thought it was crazy that people spend and then much on these items. Only I look at information technology as a piece of art," he said. "I took it to large events, when I go to a [Los Angeles] Lakers game and sit on the flooring, having the pocketbook in that location with me gives me a lot of marketing. The people who sit courtside, they all know what a Birkin Handbag is. They encounter it and recollect 'What does he do, look me up and sign up to one of my gambling packages.'"

With stadia shuttered, will Dave – and those like him who crave the world'southward most coveted luxury appurtenances – lose interest now that in that location are fewer places to flaunt them? Are times for the super rich set to go so tough that they would even consider selling prized possessions? Or volition all that time spent at home with time on people's hands simply have heightened desire?

According to Dave, it's the latter. "People still view it on Instagram, I'll get 10,000 comments on information technology. Of course y'all'll e'er have haters, people who say yous could buy a house for half a million. But there are lots of houses for half a million, and at that place are only ii of these in the world."

He is not lonely in his assessment that the pandemic has washed fiddling to dampen demand for the earth's most prized luxury appurtenances. It has, withal, led to some interesting trends in the broader luxury market.

SELLING Electrical DREAMS

For almost of us, staying at home has meant donning leggings and hoodies. It's different for the one per cent. Eager to impress on Zoom, sales of statement jewellery have shot up. The RealReal, an online luxury goods retailer, reported a 40 per cent rising in search demand from Cartier earrings and gilt necklaces upward 72 per cent month on month.

Auction house Sotheby'due south, meanwhile, set a new record for a jewellery piece sold online, selling a Cartier bracelet from the 1930s for US$one.34 one thousand thousand.

The Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet, which sold for US$1.34 million at a Sotheby's single lot online auction. (Photograph: Sotheby'southward)

READ> In a pandemic, why are collectors splashing out millions on jewellery online?

The pandemic is also catalysing a shift towards buying and selling even the most exclusive goods digitally. The auction firm has reported strong need for online sales, with traffic over the course of March increasing by 16 per cent – a trend matched elsewhere.

A run on protective gear has afflicted the luxury market as well: The RealReal saw scarf sales from mid-March to mid-Apr shoot upwards 24 per cent year-on-twelvemonth.

The closure of physical stores has led to pent-up demand for luxury products. On its first day of re-opening, Hermes' Guangzhou store raked in US$2.vii million, believed to be the highest-always tally for a unmarried boutique.

READ> Revenge spending? Hermes store in China hauls in S$3.8m a day after reopening

Information technology has helped supply sellers in the secondary marketplace also. Cecile Wickmann, principal executive and founder of rebelle.com, said the website benefited from higher supply from commercial sellers looking for "bonny alternative auction channels." Karin Dille, head of B2B sales and estates at The RealReal, said: "A large draw with us is anonymity – [brands] appreciate the selection to consign with the states privately."

Jane Angert of JaneFinds, a specialist in sourcing the world's rarest and most collectible bags, said: "With all the Hermes stores airtight, there's an increased demand for the latest season's bags. Many auctions have been postponed, meaning in that location are even fewer exceptionally rare pieces available."

She added: "Being a small concern, nosotros're even so able to ship to people overnight. These are certainly challenging times, only people however desire to treat themselves."

"These are certainly challenging times, but people all the same want to treat themselves." – Jane Angert

Coin BAGS

Many of Paris's luxury boutiques reopened their doors on Monday (May eleven), testing people's appetite for splurging afterward a shutdown. (Photograph: AFP)

The Birkin, long seen as the quintessential fashion accessory and touted as a meliorate investment than gold or real manor, has also benefited from a gravitation towards classics.

"When the economic system is uncertain, luxury consumers want to focus their attention and bandwidth on smart collecting, straying from frivolous spending," said Caitlin Donovan, head of sales for handbags and accessories at Christie's America.

"Our clients gravitate towards the classic pieces and heritage brands which have proven time and again to concord or appreciate in value, brands such as Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton."

She added: "As the market becomes more established, prices do too."

Wickmann echoed this: "Some high-end luxury items of special brands – like Hermes – are proving more resilient in terms of prices than others."

Dave, meanwhile, said the Birkin benefits not only from its rarity but its practicality – something which harks dorsum to its origins. Named after British actress Jane Birkin, its blueprint came about when – trying to identify her wicker basket in the overhead locker on a flying between Paris and London – all of her belongings fell out. She complained to the guy sitting next to her that it was and so difficult to purchase a good-looking travel bag. It turned out the guy was Hermes' then-CEO Jean-Louis Dumas and a legend was born, the original pattern penned on the back of an Air France sick handbag.

"I take a black crocodile Birkin that I use every mean solar day – I love it, some girls think I am crazy because I use it for my laptop. But it'southward spacious, it'southward big, I wouldn't employ annihilation else."

We've mentioned that the prices of essential items have shot up since the pandemic began. What counts as essential, though, actually does lie in the eye of the beholder.

"Our clients gravitate towards the classic pieces and heritage brands which take proven time and again to concur or appreciate in value, brands such as Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton." – Caitlin Donovan

By Claire Jones © 2022 The Financial Times

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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/covid-19-pandemic-has-yet-to-dampen-demand-for-luxury-goods-251261

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