This Season, Luxury Goods Go Up For Sale.

Though in July and August each year, it is often fashionable shopping places such as Singapore and Hongkong. Discount season But this summer, instead of past promotional promotions, the major luxury brands instead increased their prices. Chanel Shanghai office told our correspondent that the number of classic models in the brand handbag was higher than that in July 1st last year, and the retail price increased by 7%-20%, while most other packages did not fluctuate.

"Many favorite bags. Clothes & Accessories Not only did not participate in summer promotions, but to varying degrees of price increases. Nevertheless, Wen Ren De still bought many "spoils" in the "shopping". She said: "the price of the first tier brand is increasing. If you don't buy it now, maybe it will be more expensive until the autumn. "

In fact, Chanel is not the only brand to raise prices. According to the overseas edition of the people's website, the prices of some commodities sold by Gucci in Europe increased by about 4% to 5% in June, and the price rise of Hermes will follow closely. There are still many people in the industry who believe that after LV raised its price in February this year, some of its products sold in Europe are likely to rise again this summer, though the products sold in China have not yet risen.

Exchange rate is a double-edged sword.

Why do luxury brands choose to increase prices in the discount season? The main reason is the exchange rate.

In June 5th this year, the euro fell against the US dollar to its lowest level in more than 4 years. Since the beginning of the year, the euro has fallen by more than 15% against the US dollar. Although the sales volume of many luxury brands in the first half of 2010 has increased significantly under the influence of the global economic recovery, they still choose to raise the price to compensate for the losses caused by the exchange rate.

For the luxury brands produced in the euro area, the increasingly serious exchange rate issue is a double-edged sword. "For those American consumers who will go to Europe to participate in the fashion week of Milan and Paris, the price of the euro after the rise of all kinds of fashionable clothing is almost the same as that of the first half of the year. For them, the actual dollar price of these items has not changed much. " Gucci's CEOPatrizio di Marco was not long ago.

Watches and clocks under Swatch group brand After the rise in Hamilton3 months, OMEGA also boosted the middle and high price list, up to 13%. In addition, the watch group Richemont was also promoted by Cartire brand. After the economic crisis, the premium prices of high-end watches resumed, reflecting the exchange gap that they had absorbed over the past year.

In particular, for the luxury brands that buy parts and raw materials from the dollar zone countries, the depreciation of the euro means that the interests will shrink and the cost will increase. "The raw materials of many fashionable brand products are settled in US dollars, and the depreciation of the euro eventually increases the cost of products virtually." "In this case, only by raising the price of the product can we make up for the long-term adverse effects of the exchange rate," Mr. Dumac, chairman of Rhodes Public Relations Asia, which serves many luxury brands, said in an interview with reporters, Jean-Michel Dumont.

However, exchange rate is not the only reason for the recent fluctuations in luxury prices. "Although sales of luxury goods have rebounded significantly in the first half of 2010, the debt crisis in Europe and the budgetary gap in western countries may lead to tax increases, which will have an impact on the price of luxury goods." CEO Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute Research Institute in the US said.

"Luxury brands, of course, want to maintain their" unattainable "attitude in the minds of consumers by raising prices, and then promote their desire to buy, which is also one of the reasons for this price surge. Mr Dumac believes that "this price increase will be repeated in the future."

Another important reason why luxury goods are full of confidence in the market after rising prices is the Chinese market. In addition to the European exchange rate, debt crisis or tax changes, the increasing purchasing power of Chinese consumers is a strong incentive for luxury brands to raise their prices. "The euro area is a huge market, but the current sales growth is mainly in some emerging luxury goods purchasing countries, especially China, which has promoted the entire luxury goods industry. That's why I'm not too worried about exchange rate and debt crisis now. " Isabelle Ardon, President of SG management, a luxury goods fund in Paris, said.

"If it is not for sale in China, it is impossible to recover this brand in such a short period after the outbreak of the financial crisis." CEO Florent Perrichon of Italy brand Cerruti says so.

"Luxury goods such as bags and watches can be kept for a long time, so from a certain perspective, they are between consumer goods and investment goods. As a result, luxury producing countries with lower tax rates and higher discounts should attract consumers in emerging countries like China. Xie Guozhong, a famous economist in China, explains, "however, when China's economic power flows to the international market, and the supply of products is restricted, the price of luxury goods will rise relative to the prices of other necessities, and diamonds belong to such products. When suppliers can increase product production and want to fix prices, suppliers will provide enough products to meet the needs of the Chinese market, such as Mercedes Benz and LV bags.

Chinese consumers are willing to pay for rising prices?

Some fashion industry veterans predict that there will still be a trend for luxury goods to rise in the future. Ronnie Armist, executive director of British investment company's Stonehage Investment Partners, is one of them: "luxury products and services are gradually stabilized after several years of turbulence, and people will be more careful to spend. But we can expect that the price of luxury goods will grow slowly and steadily in the future."

But will consumers pay for this part of the price increase caused by exchange rate problems?

"In France, the second largest euro area countries, the cost of clothing has dropped by 4 percentage points in 2009, and this year it will not be any good." "Consumers are always being plagued by commodity prices," said Francois Marie Grau, Secretary General of the French women's clothing Federation. If prices continue to rise, perhaps the fashionable French spend less money on luxuries this year.

While the other part of the luxury consumer price rises, the high-end shoppers who still dare to shop think that "no one knows when the next wave of price rises will come." One of them is Wen Ren De. "From another point of view, whether Chanel or Cartire, the price increase means that these items will be more secure in the future," she said.

In July 20th, Rhodes public relations and one of the leading companies in Asia luxury market research industry, albatross Joint Business Consulting Co., Ltd. released the "2010 China luxury goods report". "This survey shows that in 2010, the top fashion apparel products occupied the absolute advantage in the luxury brand ranking of consumers, and Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci ranked the top three brands. These brands have been rising after the outbreak of the financial crisis. This shows that the price increase has not affected the enthusiasm of Chinese consumers. Mr. Dumac said.

Like Du Mike, Simon, Asia Pacific Research Director of Ipsos, also believes that even if there are collective price increases of several luxury brands, Chinese consumers will not suppress the enthusiasm of buying luxury goods for such reasons. Simon said, "people are keen on brands, whether they are handbags, clothes or cars, and consumers have a strong desire to buy. This also directly promotes the sale of luxury goods in China.

However, many brands still choose to cut costs and sell their products at relatively low prices. "We will reduce the cost by about 15%." CEO LewFrankfort of Coach said, "we believe that consumers will not be able to give in easily. They haven't bought brand-name products before 2006 for a long time. After the economic crisis, consumers have a new concept of luxury goods. They are looking for cheaper prices and higher quality products. This is a long-term trend. "But the top executives of many companies are obviously different from mine." Frankfort added at the same time.