Luxury brands raise prices one after another

Global luxury brands have been raising their prices, particularly in South Korea. As a result, some of the products of popular luxury brands, such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, have now reached 10 million won.

Louis Vuitton Korea raised the prices of its products by up to 37 percent on Wednesday, five months after the brand increased its prices five times last year. It is unusual even for a luxury brand to raise prices by over 30 percent. The price of the Capucines MM, which is popular among brides-to-bes as a wedding gift from their groom, was up 22 percent from 7.53 million won to 9.22 million won, approaching 10 million won.

The luxury-goods industry believes that the recent price hikes result from competition between luxury brands. Bags below the price tag of 10 million won already disappeared from Chanel’s iconic Classic Flap bag line. Hermes also upped its prices by 3-7 percent in early January, expanding the number of items in the 10 million won range. Pundits say that Louis Vuitton increased its prices excessively to be in the same league with the above brands.

Other luxury brands are also busy establishing themselves as high-end that “not everyone” can afford to buy. Gucci raised the prices of its handbags and other items by an average of 6 percent on Monday. The price of the small GG Marmont shoulder bag rose 17 percent to exceed 2 million won for the first time. Last month, Dior increased the price of its large Lady Dior handbag by 20 percent to 8.4 million won. Following six price hikes last year, Prada raised the prices of its symbolic bags by 10 percent this month. Luxury watch and jewelry brands, such as Rolex, Tiffany & Co., and Boucheron, also recently increased their prices by around 10 percent.


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