Christine McConville
Boston Globe
On the cozy second floor of Neiman Marcus, some very focused women picked through the discount bin, studying a $237 Hogan clutch and $667 quilted Marc Jacobs purse.
A few blocks away, at Filene’s Basement on Boylston Street, similarly intent shoppers scrutinized the black Bottega Veneta tote, marked down to $1,799, and a mohair Versace for just $1,859.
“There’s some Prada over there, too” said Aude Soleau, a French woman who moved to Boston last year.
A frequent visitor to the world-famous discounter, she’s noticed that more and more high-end, European-made handbags are selling there.
Industry analysts say that after a few years of heady sales, the designer handbag business is crashing, because in addition to the overall slowdown in retailing, the designer handbag market is oversaturated.
“The consumer is feeling the stress of the economy,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Accessories Magazine has predicted that the U.S. handbag market will grow just 4 percent this year, down from 8 percent in 2006.
Coach’s stock price dropped to a 52-week low last month, after the company cut prices on some soon-to-be discontinued merchandise.
The high-end handbag phenomenon exploded a few years ago, as images of Hermes-toting Britney Spears and Posh Spice flashed across the media universe.
For many women, a $150 Longchamp tote provided an entry into a coveted world of luxury.
Since then, prices have soared. The Web site “eFashionHouse.com” reports that the average woman’s designer handbag costs $5,000, up from $2,000 in 2004.
But as prices rose, mid-level retailers, such as Kenneth Cole and BCBG, started to compete by making hipper bags, which have siphoned sales away from the most-expensive brands.
In the city’s high-end shops, salespeople said business continues to be brisk. But they also said the high-end handbag market now runs the gamut from Coach, whose Signature Strip pouch costs $138, to Gucci, where the ostrich Queen costs $11,000.
“If someone who wants a $1,500 handbag has to cut back, she won’t buy the bag,” said one retailer who asked not to be named. “But if she’s buying a $17,000 bag, the economy probably doesn’t matter.”
“It’s kind of crazy, when you think about it,” said Caroline, a 32-year-old Bostonian with a chocolate-brown Jimmy Choo tucked under her arm.
“The first time I bought a Prada was eight years ago, and I paid $250,” she said.
Now, she said, that same bag would cost about $900.
Standing in the sea of buttery-soft, cut-rate bags at the Basement, Caroline predicted that expensive bags will continue to sell.
“People are going to keep paying for them,” she said.
But Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, disagreed.
“A lot of the growth in the handbag market was among the aspirational affluent, who make less than $100,000 a year,” he said. “They are the ones who are really feeling the pinch.”
Even with the rising price of designer handbags, you can still find bags at below-retail prices and under $1k:
Labels: authentic designer handbags, discount designer handbags
