Luxury bag sets record price – Wei Gu

Wei Gu

Some luxury brands have been slashing prices to keep their Chinese customers. But as a  fuchsia Hermès Birkin bad with diamonds sets a record price in Hong Kong, WSJ wealth editor Wei Gu wonders in Marketwatch whether luxury goods are really in the doldrums.

Wei Gu:

At Christie’s afternoon handbags and accessories sale in Hong Kong on Monday, the bag fetched 1.72 million Hong Kong dollars (US$221,846) and was sold to a phone bidder. The previous record was a diamond-adorned rouge crocodile Hermès Birkin bag that went for US$203,150 at a Heritage Auctions sale in New York in 2011. (A diamond and gold evening bag once owned by Elizabeth Taylor sold for US$218,500 at Christies in New York in December 2011, although that item was in the jewelry category.) 

The identity of the buyer of Monday’s record sale wasn’t known. 

The record came at a time when storied luxury names such as Chanel and Gucci have been slashing prices in Hong Kong and China to attract buyers.

More at Marketplace.

Wei Gu is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you looking for more experts on luxury goods at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

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