Cost of Production

[helena]

LOL its ok Kit - but back on topic now (woo hoo I always wanted to tell a schoolmaster what to do)!!!! (btw, I get a bit freaked out in fancy-dan hotels to be honest).

 

[kit]

LOL its ok Kit - but back on topic now (woo hoo I always wanted to tell a schoolmaster what to do)!!!! (btw, I get a bit freaked out in fancy-dan hotels to be honest).

Thanks

Actually , to read about the true cost of production adds to my feelings of guilt and shame caused by my extravagance .

Tht's why I have so much , as I dare not dispose of any of my hard-won items , at the expense of clutter and the baleful way it all weighs on my conscience , as to do so would be even more wasteful .

Now if I had put the money towards more constructive uses ...........

All those thousands of pounds of expenditure on things that actually cost so little to make , inflated by the hypnotic advertising hype in the glossies .......

I think that this thread has been a salutory lesson to my inconsequential triviality .

( Still I could have pis..d all my money against the wall or sniffed it up my nose ) .

But these are just excuses , excuses .....

 

[helena]

well kit look at it this way - the consolation is that your decadent expenditure brings a little beauty into an otherwise grim world and that can't be all bad.

 

[kit]

well kit look at it this way - the consolation is that your decadent expenditure brings a little beauty into an otherwise grim world and that can't be all bad.

Once again , thanks .

AND we are on topic .

 

[jhaime]

I know this is a bit off top, but I'm certain that there was never a flannels in Glasgow. Cruise has been there for years, originally in a small shop in Renfield Street, where it grew into a larger store, and then moved to Ingram Street.

I'm not sure what streets and so on, or whether the name actually changed, but there was certainly flannels management in their at some stage and they were certainly not in there on good terms...

I don't live in scotland anymore, live near leeds...

Quite funny how this thread has been taken over by us Brits...hee hee

 

[Ella]

I think that a lot of the time prices are marked up much higher than 300%, for instance Hermès:

For over 30 years, Hermès has been producing a particular handbag called the ‘Kelly ’bag (after Grace Kelly)which retails for US$15, 000. For about ten years, John has been working with Hermès, who buy the farm ’s first- grade skins. “We send shipments of first-grade skins, then they select and buy about 80 per cent of that shipment for around $600 each
(from www.rirdc.gov.au/champions/LagoonCrocodileFarm.html)

From another source I learned that it takes 20 man hours to produce each handbag. Even with everything else relating to the production of the handbag they must be making an enormous profit...

 

[kit]

I think that a lot of the time prices are marked up much higher than 300%, for instance Hermès:

For over 30 years, Hermès has been producing a particular handbag called the ‘Kelly ’bag (after Grace Kelly)which retails for US$15, 000. For about ten years, John has been working with Hermès, who buy the farm ’s first- grade skins. “We send shipments of first-grade skins, then they select and buy about 80 per cent of that shipment for around $600 each
(from www.rirdc.gov.au/champions/LagoonCrocodileFarm.html)

From another source I learned that it takes 20 man hours to produce each handbag. Even with everything else relating to the production of the handbag they must be making an enormous profit...

It's ALL in the exclusivity , Dahling .

 

[tott]

Perfectly agree, Hermès prices aren't warranted by quality/workmanship and so on. It's what you pay for "luxury".

 

[AlexN]

^Yes, only to a certain point are you paying for the quality.

 

[softgrey]

i have a beautiful hand-stitched business card holder that was given to me by a woman who used to make hermes bags...

the idea of perfectly hand-stitched leather is quite something...
not so easy...
i invite you all to try it sometime...

 

[kit]

I've mentioned elsewhere that there's an HERMES boutique in Manchester , which sells the rtw .

Just the sublime thrill of having an H belt , swaddled in its flannel drawstring bag , handed to you contained in a crested orange bag , is what you are paying for .

NOT the raw materials , craftsmanship or marketing .

It's the ultimate ' matter over mind ' thang .

 

[jhaime]

And after you remove all that packaging, it's still just a belt

 

[kit]

And after you remove all that packaging, it's still just a belt

But WHAT a belt !!!

( Please see Soft's post , " The idea of perfectly hand-stiched leather is quite something . Not so easy . " )

Mes sentiments in a nutshell .

 

[softgrey]

mmm...
well...i'm not really one for fancy packaging...
but i have seen some people practically drooling at the chanel counter...

so i guess all that stuff does work on some people...
...

 

[softgrey]

But WHAT a belt !!!

( Please see Soft's post , " The idea of perfectly hand-stiched leather is quite something . Not so easy . " )

Mes sentiments in a nutshell .

......

 

[tott]

i have a beautiful hand-stitched business card holder that was given to me by a woman who used to make hermes bags...

the idea of perfectly hand-stitched leather is quite something...
not so easy...
i invite you all to try it sometime...

PERFECTLY made clothes and accessories are very rare, aren't they? I can make my own clothes, I'm a tailor, and I know something about working with leather as well; but since I don't work in the field I'm a consumer. And it can be dissappointing, as I'm sure you know.

 

[tott]

Oh yeah, I'd like to add that I don't really have time to make my own stuff because I'm working in another field; I have honed my skills during the years though and learnt to appreciate workmanship.

 

[softgrey]

my tott...
you have done many things in your life...

 

[clay]

FYI- most or bottom line mark ups to get the wholesale price to sell to a buyer is usually 30% in the mass market biz, which i can not seem to get out of.....

example:
manufacturers cost=fabric, labor, packing, tags, labels, trims, freight, duty, ect= $6

wholesale buyers cost=$6 + (30%)$1.80= $7.80.

Cosumers retail cost= anywhere from $12, $16 Walmart,
Macy's,Tg Maxx,Target ,Jc Penny, Sears $24,
Target, Bloomindales $30,
Barney's, Bergdorff G. $60

Thats been my experience with bigger companies that can give the volume orders
to get such low prices.

Sampling may or may not be free. I know it can be very costly for smaller businesses.

 

[Ella]

It's ALL in the exclusivity , Dahling .

Yes but they are exclusive because Hermès controls the supply. If their handbags were more available they wouldn't be able to set the price so high. Also, their main marketing objective is the IDEA of luxury, and because they are a multi-national company they have the funds for extremely expensive advertising campaigns. Another smaller manufacturor making a handbag using the same man hours and the same raw materials wouldn't be able to charge anywhere near $15,000 like Hermès does. So the cost of production is a very small fraction of the actual price of for instance the Kelly bag, it's just a clever marketing trick that makes people buy their goods for such prices and allows them to make huge profits.