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A Birkin bag is the ultimate status symbol\u2014one that money alone can\u2019t buy. The notoriously exclusive process of acquiring the iconic handbag, which can cost between $8,000 and $450,000, is now the target of a class-action lawsuit.<\/p>\n
In a complaint filed in a federal court in Northern California on Tuesday, two shoppers allege that French luxury house Herm\u00e8s violated antitrust and business practice laws by only offering Birkin handbags to customers who already have a purchase history with the brand.<\/p>\n
Plaintiffs Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga alleged that Herm\u00e8s executed a \u201cscheme to exploit the market power\u201d of the Birkin by \u201crequiring consumers to purchase ancillary products\u2026before they will be given an opportunity to purchase\u201d the bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other words, consumers are coerced into purchasing ancillary products from Herm\u00e8s by virtue of wanting to purchase the Birkin Handbags,\u201d the filing reads. \u201cThis is anticompetitive, tying conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n
This practice of \u201ctying\u201d purchases, according to the plaintiffs, artificially inflates the cost of acquiring a Birkin bag and limits consumer choice, violating federal and state antitrust laws, and the California Business and Professions Code.<\/p>\n
Herm\u00e8s has not responded to the lawsuit. The company did not respond to Fortune<\/em>\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n Short answer: no. According to the lawsuit, plaintiff Cavalleri has spent tens of thousands of dollars at Herm\u00e8s\u2014and already owns at least one Birkin. In September 2022, Cavalleri contacted Herm\u00e8s about purchasing another Birkin bag but was told specialty bags are going to \u201cclients who have been consistent in supporting our business,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n The other plaintiff, Glinoga, made multiple attempts to purchase a Birkin\u2014but \u201cwas told on each occasion he needed to purchase other items and accessories,\u201d the filing reads. Glinoga went home empty-handed every time, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n One cannot simply walk into an Herm\u00e8s store and ask for a Birkin\u2014instead, opportunities to purchase the bag are offered to the brand\u2019s most loyal customers. Customers who are interested can enquire in-store, but the final decision of who gets offered a Birkin is up to sales associates, according<\/a> to Byrdie.<\/p>\n And even if the lucky customers are willing to shell out five or six figures to buy the bag, they may not get to pick the model their heart desires.<\/p>\n \u201cHerm\u00e8s only allows boutiques to purchase a select number of Birkins on a bi-annual basis and the style of Birkin bag delivered to boutiques is rarely known ahead of time,\u201d according<\/a> to Sotheby\u2019s. \u201cAs a result, customers must either make do with the available Birkin bag offered by the sales associate or patiently wait for the style they want to become available.\u201d<\/p>\n And so, buying a Birkin not only requires thousands of dollars\u2014it can also require a purchase history with Herm\u00e8s, rapport with a sales associate, and pure luck. Though the spotlight is now on Herm\u00e8s, fellow luxury brands Rolex, Celine, and Chanel<\/a> have also been accused by social media users of implementing the \u201ctying\u201d practice, according<\/a> to The Business of Fashion<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Birkin bag was \u201cborn in the sky, in 1984, on a flight from Paris to London,\u201d according<\/a> to Herm\u00e8s. The late actress Jane Birkin was seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, executive chairman of Herm\u00e8s at the time, when she confided in him that she couldn\u2019t find a bag that suited her needs as a young mother.<\/p>\n The actress told<\/a> CNN in 2020 that she sketched out the design on a sick bag\u2014and Dumas added to the design by taking inspiration from existing Herm\u00e8s bags.<\/p>\n The earliest versions of the bag were sold for around $2,000 in 1984, according<\/a> to Business Insider<\/em>. Over the years, the Birkin has risen in status as a celebration of craftsmanship, a fashionable flex, and an investment piece\u2014and it\u2019s inspired a robust resale market that has outperformed<\/a> the S&P 500 in some years.<\/p>\n For collectors, part of the appeal of Birkins is that they hold their value well compared to other luxury goods\u2014on online luxury retailer Farfetch<\/a>, the cheapest second-hand Birkin goes<\/a> for $11,500, while the most expensive one<\/a> is listed for $48,502. As for the most expensive Birkin ever sold, the \u201cHimalayan Diamond Birkin\u201d holds that record. It fetched<\/a> $450,000 at a Sotheby\u2019s sale in 2022\u2014thanks to its valuable components of Niloticus crocodile skin and nine to 10 carats of diamonds.<\/p>\n For luxury enthusiasts, the mystique and unattainability of the Birkin only adds to its desirability. And considering the current economic landscape, a Birkin is perhaps one of the more stable investments one can make.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCan anyone buy a Birkin?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why are Birkins so expensive?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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