Lifestyle
Porsche's popularity has exploded in recent years.
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The most popular luxury items are really expensive.
To acquire a Hermès Kelly or a Birkin handbag, a Porsche Dakar 911 sports car or a Rolex Daytona, industry giants and trust funders don't have to just shell out cash for big purchases.
They first have to prove their dedication by becoming regulars at the boutique and spending small amounts of money on the brand's less exclusive items. Or you might fly to a faraway showroom for a chance to get your hands on a rare, high-demand item.
“Gone are the days of 'I have more money than you, so I can buy whatever I want,'” one source, who has spent millions of dollars on various Porsches to customize his Dakar, told the Post. Ta.
“The new world is all about building relationships with salespeople, car dealers and authorized watch dealers.”
Another source was more blunt: These brands want people to first buy a “fashionable SUV,” a generic watch to impress the gatekeepers.
By some estimates, the richest 1% increased their net worth by about $30 trillion in the first two years of the pandemic. Now, the search for status symbols has become more intense, and luxury brands can afford to be more selective about who gets their most-desired products.
Reddit is filled with hundreds of threads and thousands of comments about how to choose a Hermès Birkin or Kelly bag. Suggestions include spending at least $100,000 on one salesperson in a calendar year and stopping by weekly to meet them.
Or you might want to fly to Paris, where you'll likely have more baggage. There, he might try to win the lottery in order to secure an appointment to meet one-on-one with a salesperson who has bags to sell.
Instagram influencer Campbell “Pookie” Paquette recently took to the stage to share that her husband managed to score her a Birkin, booked her an appointment at Hermès in Paris, and gifted her a Kelly bag. He boasted about his accomplishments and acknowledged the fact that they were amazing. Having money is not enough.
“I never thought it would happen so quickly,” she said of achieving her longtime Birkin dream, adding, “You know, you know, it's so hard to get reservations.”
Another handbag enthusiast, who splits her time between Connecticut, Manhattan and St. Barths, said she's been on a waiting list for Kelly bags for years but has yet to purchase one. However, she holds out her hopes and makes it a habit to check into Hermes stores wherever she travels.
“I've heard of someone randomly getting Kelly at St. Barth's College, so I always stop by there,” she added.
Hermès officials estimate that to get your hands on a Kelly or Birkin, you'll need to spend at least $40,000 to $100,000 on “entry-level” items.
Entry-level cabin bags start at $4,150, belts with signature “H” buckles start at $770, and Avalon blankets start at $1,900. But more expensive items, like his $8,750 cashmere coat and his $5,450 dog bed, add up more quickly.
Rolex-obsessed insiders have been forced to spend years and thousands of dollars on generic Oyster Perpetuals ($5,500) and Air-Kings ($7,450) until they are given time to buy more popular watches. said.
“My safe is full of watches that I don't wear. [Buying them] I’m considered more desirable because I keep the ball rolling,” said one watch enthusiast who finally got his hands on a proud Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Le Mans” limited edition.
Released in 2023, the watch retails for $77,800. It's unclear exactly how many were made, but sources suspect it was only a few thousand.
The fuss may drive some customers crazy, but analysts say it's good business.
Rarity doesn't just “increase the attractiveness of a product” [but] People continue to spend money on brands to get brands,” said Simeon Siegel, who studies luxury companies as head of retail equity research at BMO.
“Restricting access to a product is a great way to increase brand favorability,” added Luca Sorca, Bernstein's senior research analyst for global luxury goods. “Porsche, Hermès and Rolex are masters of this technique.”
One car enthusiast said it took him more than five years and five purchases of cars he didn't really want to win the favor of Porsche dealers.
He and his friends have to buy several Porsche Macans (a relatively undesirable compact SUV that starts at $60,900) to get the car they really want, like a customized Porsche 911. did not. This customization is known in the Porsche community as “paint to sample.” Buyers can choose paint, interior and finishes.
“Everyone is forced into a car they don't want. There are always too many cars,” said a source who finally got the 911 he really wanted.
Some luxury shoppers don't want to play this game and prefer to pay high premiums and take advantage of the secondary market.
At auction houses and luxury second-hand websites like The Real Real and First Dibs, people pay double, triple or even quadruple the retail price of an item.
A Patek Philippe Nautilus white gold that sells for $75,000 could sell for $250,000. His 25cm Epsom brown Hermès Kelly, which sells for $10,000 in stores, can fetch $30,000. His limited edition 2015 Porsche 918, purchased from a dealer for his $845,000, could sell for $2.3 million.
“The secondary market is what's going to drive interest,” Siegel said. “If you buy something you like, you convince yourself that it's an investment.”
From a purely economic standpoint, that approach may be much more efficient than spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on items you don't really want and waiting years for the color or size to become available. not.
But it ultimately limits the influence and long-term access someone has – you'll no longer get a call asking if you want the latest car model or bag color.
No matter what path shoppers take, luxury brands win.
“This process embeds them even deeper into the brand and the business,” Solka said. “There are people who pay to be brand ambassadors.”
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