In his review of the David Thomas' book 'How
luxury lost its lustre', Harry Mount took the modern handbag/wallet
as a model to explain the linkage between high fashion and mass
production.
"The way to make money was to introduce
fashionable lower-priced accessories that most people could afford
and cut back on couture. In the 1950s, 200 women wore haute
couture; today 2,000 women do.
The great accessory cash cow is the
handbag. For the aspiring middle-market that can't afford a
smart dress, the handbag, like perfume and wallets, is the perfect
'entrance product' to a luxury brand.
That is why the first room in any upmarket shop
is given over to these things- it's where they nab the cautious
buyer. Stick the monogrammed leather business-card holder in
a soft felt pouch, wrap it in tissue paper, toss it in a
rope-handled paper bag in the brand's signature colour and the poor
benighted customer thinks he's bought a slice of the high life, not
just four square inches of cowhide.
At Louis Vuitton's huge four-story Tokyo
flagship- the industry word for a shop, with the complete range of
products- 40% of sales are made in that first room which only
stocks wallets, small leather goods and monogrammed
handbags.
The profit margin on Louis Vuitton handbags is 13
times the cost price, and Vuitton never marks down- that would
dilute the brand, Even better, handbags come in one size only- no
need then, to give different sets of instructions to your
factories."
Daily
Telegraph, Oct. 27, 2007