In December, I wrote a post about the Nintendo Wii shortage asking if Brandcurve readers thought it was real or manufactured. Whether or not it was real, demand certainly skyrocketed as customers scrambled to get their hands on a Wii before the holidays. Now, it seems the manipulation of supply and demand is happening in the designer handbag category.
Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman have each created a limit on the number of pricy designer handbags a customer can purchase to 3 within 30 days. At first, it might seem like a strange restriction based on the pricetags these brands have on them. For example, brands like Prada and Botega Venetta sell purses that cost nearly $1500.00. However, the limitation is meant to deter foreign buyers from stocking up on the expensive bags while the U.S. dollar is so weak. It seems foreigners purchase the purses then resell them in Europe and Asia for a nice profit.
Interestingly, one designer handbag company, LVMH who owns famous designer brands such as Dior and Givenchy, sells it Louis Vitton bags strictly through its own website, eLuxury.com. The LVMH policy limits buyers to just 2 handbag buys per calendar year.
What do you consider these restrictions? Will they work to increase demand of the brands with buy limitations? Will they help in reducing the resale market?
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