As life slowly returns to normal in some parts of a post-lockdown China, most of its citizens are beginning to pick up from where they left off—including wealthy shoppers. While luxury fashion players stayed strong and rallied together to contribute to the fight against COVID-19, there was no doubt that the industry would suffer due to the pandemic. But it seems like there is hope after an Hermès boutique in China reportedly made US$2.7 million on its reopening day, according to a WWD report.
An Hermès boutique in Paris (Image: Miguel Medina/AFP)
The store in question is located in Guangzhou, a city in Guangdong, which also happens to be one of China’s most affluent areas as well as its most populous region, based on data from 2018. Various items were purchased at the French luxury boutique in Guangzhou’s Taikoo Hui shopping centre, including tableware, shoes, furniture and leather goods. But that’s not all, rare bags were also delivered to the standalone 5,500 sqft Hermès store that spans two levels. Among the rare bags was a diamond-studded Himalayan Birkin, said WWD.
Eager shoppers had apparently taken to Chinese social media platforms to showcase how they went straight from quarantine to shopping, posting photos of their experience in the reopened store along with their new acquisitions. One of the shoppers claimed to have spent over US$142,000 in Hermès that day and had also purchased a black crocodile Birkin 30.
No official confirmation has been made by the French maison but it is believed that this could be the highest revenue made in a single day for a boutique in China.
