Shoes are the new it-bags. The news that Hermès this week confirmed it will
take a stake in luxury cobbler Pierre Hardy underlines the consumer shift
in buying habits. Shoppers are turning to footwear, not bags, and the
luxury groups are responding quickly.
Hermès has been a quiet power in the footwear market, and is also the owner
of British heritage cobbler John Lobb. John Lobb sells leather derby’s for
an average price of 1.250 euros (1.389 dollars), and the company’s turnover has soared in
recent seasons, no doubt due in part to its marketing strategy, but it’s
product is literally walking off the shelves.
A visit to any major department store from London to New York to Seoul will
see how the shoe floors have become something of a Mecca, a boudoir of
accessories alluringly curated with artistry and verve. They have become
destination points in their own right.
When did shoes become the new sartorial statement of choice? When bags
topped the scale of affordability and an average monthly salary could
barely purchase a mere clutch of a bag, shoes became the preferred way to
make a statement. Cheaper than bags, easier to veer into ‘fashion’ than say
an outré designer look, shoes are the solid gold of accessories.
An explosion of designer footwear, especially in the sportswear segment,
has been evident in recent seasons. The humble tennis shoe, once offered in
mostly a plain white leather version by a few reputable sportswear brands,
now has a life of its own. Companies such as Saint Laurent, Givenchy,
Valentino, Prada and Gucci have lucrative businesses in the luxury trainer
and shoe category, fueling profit margins in their sales of accessories. Mr
Pierre Hardy is a good example, offering a steady supply with his
signature detailed sneakers. With 200 stockists and three self-operated
stores, the Pierre Hardy brand is ripe for expansion, and if it wasn’t
Hermès it would surely have lured another investor.
The Mecca of online shopping, Net-a-Porter.com, has seen a declining
interest in designer bags. The online company sells some 700 brands, but it
is only the top twenty well-known luxury companies from whom it gains
successful sales. The rest don’t shift handbags quite as easily.
Now that changing consumer demands from the Asian markets have dented the
growth of luxury companies, the extortionate price of high-end handbags is
making other product categories come to the fore.
Soon enough there will be a shoe war: Jimmy Choo became the first publicly
traded luxury footwear brand in 2014. There are several companies
already hot on its heels.
Photo credits: Pierre Hardy Facebook