Walmart’s take on the Hermès Birkin is breaking the internet
The leather handbag offered on Walmart’s website is a look alike to the original Birkin bag produced by Hermès, a French luxury goods manufacturer, but it is cheaper. There must be many Wirkins gone up for sale after creating hype on social media site. Hermès is an example of brands that have not disappeared since their emergence but their prices are unattainable by majority. However, the ever-watchful bargain hunter has a blast — which is why cheaper, higher quality knockoffs are so compelling.
Moreover, fashion influencers have also jump-started the idea for these look-alikes, and the advances in online buying and inexpensive shipment rates have also gotten rid of wherever worldwide. Although Hermès does not sell its bag on the internet, Maison de Luxe, which is a company in Los Angeles dealing specifically in brand-new as well as second hand Hermès bags categorizes its Birkin bags starting from $26,500 up to $399,999.
An original, or what is known as a ‘swing museum’, means a plain and standard model birkin bag which is hand-stitched with the help of one artisan that can take as long as 40 hours can retail for as little as $7,200 going by the SACLÀB, a Munich-based marketplace. In March the potential buyers of Birkin sued the France based company having accused it of requiring the customers to buy other products from Hermes before they can get a Birkin bag hence increasing the cost of the handbag.
On the other hand, the Birkin associated with Walmart is sold currently from $78 depending on size and colour. Kamugo, the maker of one Wirkin, notes that the purse is made of Genuine cowhide leather but contains synthetic leather in the bag. Hermès is not the only brand which is experiencing its products being copied — Stanley water bottles, Skims bodysuits, and Lululemon leggings are some of the costly goods that have a low-priced clone.
Hermès was also contacted with a request for comment by CNN who filed this piece without receiving any response from the company.That being said, “dupes” which are cheaper than brands but whose logos are not fakes (they are not classified as fake products although they are like the real expensive brands) have been receiving more attention online in the recent past. However, Steven Moy, the chief client officer at luxury consultant G & Co., said that dupes are unavoidable. It is similar to how domestic auto makers Toyota and Honda felt the heat for their premium brands – Lexus and Acura.
It lets the individual collect dust and spend years waiting for a Birkin bag, he said. Moy also stated that the consumers who have money are Hist still loyal to brands such as Hermès will not stop purchasing products because of these so called replicates. “The true ultra luxury in that case won’t be affected in the short run,” he said. The latter is exemplified by such brands as Lululemon, which have responded to dupes bravely. Athleisure brand recently staged a “dupe swap” in Los Angeles and offered its black Align High Rise Pant 25” for a pair.
This is an area that the dupe manufacturers can work in relatively opaque fashion and many brands do not have a definitive store origin. They have no own web-site, for example, Kamugo is not presented in the Internet. Moy says the Wirkin and fast-fashion companies speak to the younger generation to introduce them to luxury brands, which they might graduate to in the future. And to be more precise, when the students are asked by the teacher – and there is no correct answer for such a question. That, of course, depends on the target audience you have in mind,” Moy said. “Are they trying to appeal to those groups or do you want to stick with what got recognized by Guinness?: