Expected Price Hikes... Luxury Goods Prices Continue to Rise in the New Year

Herm?s Birkin Bag

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Luxury brand prices began to rise from the first day of the new year.

According to the industry on the 5th, Herm?s implemented a price increase in Europe as of January 1st, and officially raised prices in the Korean market on the 4th.

Herm?s raised prices by around 3-7% on bags, wallets, scarves, and even shoes. The Garden Party 36, known as an entry-level bag, increased by 160,000 KRW from 4,820,000 KRW, a 3.3% hike. The popular Lindy 26 rose about 5% from 9,810,000 KRW to 10,230,000 KRW. Shoe products also saw price increases of around 100,000 KRW.

Herm?s has raised prices during the first week of January every year, so a price increase was expected this year as well. Last year, on January 5th, they raised prices by about 5-10% on bags, wallets, scarves, and other items.

On the earlier 1st, the watch brand Rolex also raised prices. Watch prices increased by 8-16%, with some products seeing price hikes of over 1,000,000 KRW overnight. The popular model ‘Submariner No Date’ rose 16% from 9,850,000 KRW to 11,420,000 KRW. Among Submariners, the model nicknamed ‘Starbucks’ increased by 1,920,000 KRW (16.5%) overnight, from 11,650,000 KRW to 13,570,000 KRW.

Price increases by major luxury brands are expected to continue one after another. Brands such as Goyard, Dior, and Tiffany are also expected to raise prices within January.

Meanwhile, last year saw unprecedented price hikes in luxury goods. Prada raised prices six times last year alone. They continuously raised prices about once every two months. Chanel raised prices four times, with the popular Classic Bag line exceeding 10,000,000 KRW for all products. Louis Vuitton raised prices five times, and other luxury brands such as Bottega Veneta, Burberry, and Celine also raised prices one to three times.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.