By CultureBanx Team
- Hermès bags outperformed other luxury items last year rising by 17%
- Rappers like Cardi B constantly showcase their Hermès Birkin collection
If you were looking for a nice short-term investment perhaps luxury handbags is where you’ll see the biggest return, since they have officially become an asset class. The price of one Hermès bag outperformed other luxury items last year rising by 17%, beating out art, wine and collectible cars, according to a new Knight Frank report. Hermès also benefited from some free marketing as well, thanks to rappers like Cardi B constantly showcasing her collection.
Why This Matters: Luxury handbags are becoming less of an emotional purchase and more of a rational one, as they move beyond accessory status and into an investment portfolio. The main key to investing in luxury handbags is you’ll probably need to keep it pristine, meaning you can’t really use it to schlep your lunch to work. It will be worth it because over a 10-year-time period, handbags have more than doubled in value, up 108%, handily trouncing gold’s 29% return.
Over a 10-year-time period, handbags have more than doubled in value, up 108%
French handbag maker Hermès said in February that its famed classic Birkin and Kelly bags, which sell for $20,000 each on average, were hot accessories during the holidays, helping fuel a 12.3% increase in fourth-quarter sales to $2.54 billion. Despite the coronavirus shuttering boutiques worldwide in 2020, Hermès sales only dropped 6% on a currency-adjusted basis.
Urban culture has been a long time supporter of Hermès, even when some question its impact on the industry. Cardi B previously spoke out against prejudice and discrimination in the fashion industry last year, after she responded to a viral tweet that criticized Black women for owning many expensive Hermès Birkin bags.
“Hip-hop, we start trends and when y’all think that we devalue (expletive). No, we add value.”
Last summer the rapper even gifted her two year-old daughter Kulture an $8,000 Birkin bag. Actor Michael B. Jordan revealed that on Valentine’s Day he gave his girlfriend Lori Harvey shares in Hermès.
Situational Awareness: It might be best to look at luxury handbags as a short term investment with their good returns. Art may still need to be your go to long-term investment because in the past decade it has actually grown in value more than handbags.
CBx Vibe: “Baby Birkin” Gunna
