Designer handbags might not seem like the most sensible use of your money, but it turns out that expensive classics like Grace Kelly’s namesake Hermes bag and the classic Chanel 2.55 might actually be the best place to invest your money.
According to the Wall Street bank Jeffries, there is a lucrative market for luxury bag sales, which has grown from £5 million to £26 million in just seven years. And it’s not just vintage classics that are bringing in the big bucks – even bags bought in the past 10 years can expect to sell for more than five times their original price.
‘A strong aftermarket legitimises a product’s price on the primary market,’ the analyst at Jeffries told The Times. ‘Hence brands have been willing to co-operate and share expertise.’
But there is one brand in particular that you can almost guarantee will increase in worth, and that’s the Hermes. Indeed, the Himalaya bag, bought for 29,600 euros in 2010, raised 157,500 euros at auction in 2016.
This could be set to change, however, as the analyst from Jeffries continues: ‘Luxury brands have increasingly been able to raise the prices of their handbags and use more premium materials, so the top of the market is likely to become less dominated by Hermès.’