Luxury brands like Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent are quietly cutting prices of designer handbags after realizing high costs had driven away key customers. Earlier this year, Burberry reduced its Knight handbag by 22%, and YSL cut the Loulou bag by 10%. Despite aiming to enhance exclusivity, these brands are now making their products more accessible.
Burberry’s recent CEO change and profit warnings highlight the need for affordability. Spending on luxury goods has dropped, with sales increasingly dependent on middle-class customers. Both brands aim to balance exclusivity with consumer accessibility.
Burberry cut handbag prices to attract customers again
However, just a few days ago, Business of Fashion states that Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman acknowledges the brand’s previous pricing strategy for leather goods was a miscalculation. Despite not being known for handbags, Burberry drastically increased their prices.
The brand’s strategy is to maintain their handbag prices below RM10,000. However, looking at how some of the other luxury brands are doing, these prices may still be slightly steep for a brand that is not known for their handbags.
Unsurprisingly, Burberry’s classic Lola handbags are now available at a 50% discount online. Typically, these items rarely see such significant price reductions.
TikToker @fashionroadman states that the previous pricing strategy set by the British brand “made no sense.” He adds that the prices increased drastically in a short period of time, which can scare existing customers.
Burberry’s new creative director
Their current creative director, Daniel Lee, was the man who turned around Bottega Veneta. However, said brand has always been known for their quality leather goods. Currently, in Malaysia, Burberry outlets in Genting and Johor Premium Outlets are selling their leather goods at around 60 – 70% off even during non sale seasons.
Following this, giants like Louis Vuitton have strived to stay in the limelight by reinventing the Neverfull bag. However, this move backfired as the bag received backlash from customers, who alleged it was excessively gifted to influencers for free.
Brands that were once seen as mighty and untouchable are now seemingly crumbling down to the ground. Dior, who previously did not have seasonal sales in Malaysia and Singapore for the last 2-3 years, has appeared to have re-started their sales.
Coach and Longchamp welcoming “thrown out” customers
Brands like Coach, Longchamp (which grew by 44% in 2023) and those of a similar price range appear to not be facing the same problems. Ironically, they have seen a significant sale boost in lieu of the conventional brands hiking their prices to astronomical levels.
Could these brands start to increase their standard of quality and get off their high horse and reduce their prices? Or, will they remain as they are now and face their inevitable demise due to a lack of customers?
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