IN 2019, a small Chanel Classic Flap handbag would have sold for S$7,100 at the brand’s retail stores in Singapore. Four years on, in 2023, the same bag almost doubled in price, going for S$13,960 at Chanel stores.

The astronomical increase in price, which the French luxury brand put down to “currency fluctuations and inflation”, was accompanied by sharp cuts in production and worldwide supply. Together, the strategic moves brought on a surge in demand for the suddenly more expensive (read: exclusive) and unavailable goods, leading fans of the instantly recognisable quilted handbags to hunt in second-hand markets.

Chanel is not alone among luxury brands in raising prices year on year. Hermes, which sits at the apex of the luxury bag pyramid, is also known to increase retail prices regularly and controls both production and sales – one cannot walk into the store and buy a Birkin or a Kelly bag off the shelf.