Two million dollars have been allocated to the purchase and resale of luxury handbags — a move following a successful test carried out in recent months, in which Hermès Kelly and Birkin bags were bought and then resold for a profit of 40.9 per cent. For some time now, certain models of luxury leather goods have been regarded as financial assets, much like shares or government bonds. The wealth-tech company Luxus has been founded precisely with this purpose in mind.
Handbags as a financial asset
“The thesis is that the investor and the collector are the same person. People invest in property, art, jewellery, watches. There are funds dedicated to all these sectors, but none devoted to handbags”, explained Dana Auslander to WWD. Together with Luxus — a company financed by the auction house Christie’s — she is launching a new USD 2 million fund dedicated exclusively to luxury handbags, in particular Hermès Birkin and Kelly models.
The first test
Auslander tested the concept last May by raising USD 1 million, with which she purchased 36 Kelly and Birkin bags. Nine of these were immediately resold across various marketplaces — including Sotheby’s and Farfetch — generating a 40.9 per cent return on investment. Following this successful trial, the green light was given to launch a new fundraising round to begin speculative operations. For now, Luxus intends to focus on classic models, keeping the option open to move into rarer pieces in the future. “The classics are the ones that sell out instantly”, Auslander concluded, “and we also have a few special and exotic bags”.
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