Revealing the tactics prestige brands use to keep buyers coming back for more
Luxury brands don’t play by the same rules as everyone else, turning the shopping narrative on its head with just-out-of-reach products
4 min
From the Spring 2024 issue of Kanebridge Quarterly magazine. Order your copy here.
In the world of luxury fashion, few items evoke as much desire and exclusivity as the Hermès Birkin bag.
Conceived 40 years ago, as legend has it, after a chance meeting between actress Jane Birkin and then Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London, the coveted rectangular hold-all now has a folklore all of its own.
From rumoured ‘pre-spend’ requirements to stories of eager customers wooing Hermès sales assistants with freshly baked cookies just to get on the waitlist, Birkin lore persists because it can be tough to fact-check anything about the bag, its pricing or the brand’s distribution and sales practices. Hermès is notoriously tight-lipped and didn’t respond to requests for comment for this article.
But this phenomenon is no accident; it’s the perfect example of a meticulously crafted strategy employed by luxury brands to create a sense of urgency and prestige around their products.
“Storytelling, a strong brand narrative and engaging customers emotionally is so important in the luxury retail space,” says Dr Edwina Luck, senior lecturer in advertising, marketing and PR at the Queensland University of Technology.
“Then this is backed up with strategies such as creating scarcity around a particular product or line, which is exactly what Hermès do with the Birkin, to further create that very real sense of exclusivity that drives the luxury sector.”
According to global research firm IBISWorld, Australia’s luxury retail industry has grown 6.9 percent on average per year between 2018 and 2023 and is now worth more than $6.2 billion.
This is despite a trend during the pandemic for some brands such as Tiffany & Co. and Burberry to reposition parts of their business as ‘masstige’, meaning the perception of exclusivity in relatively affordable goods.
It’s a shift that has been exacerbated by the popularity of social media and overt influencer and celebrity endorsements driving such brands to a younger audience than has traditionally been associated with luxury retail.
“What all of that has done is actually make those ultra-luxury brands such as Hermès and Cartier even more exclusive,” says Dr Luck. “So, the gap is widening and as far as luxury brands and consumers are concerned, the more exclusive the better.”
Exclusivity has long been a cornerstone of luxury branding, creating a unique allure that sets high-end products apart from the mass market.
Limited production runs, personalised shopping experiences, and even the physical design of stores (think closed front doors and roped-off entrances) all contribute to the perception that these products are not just items, but experiences worth striving for.
Pre-spending — the concept that a consumer needs to build a “purchasing profile” that justifies their right to buy a certain product — is another tactic that brands use to build a deeper relationship between the consumer and the brand, creating a tiered connection that fosters loyalty and aspiration.
This initial investment, such as a scarf or a wallet, can serve as a gateway to the brand’s more exclusive offerings, such as particular product lines, limited-edition collections or bespoke fashion pieces.
“These strategies turn shopping into an event,” says Kelly Brown, co-founder of retail strategy agency, The Working Party.
“The anticipation, the thrill of securing a limited edition, the urgency of pre-spending — all these enhance the consumer experience.
“Luxury shoppers aren’t just buying a product, they’re buying a story, an experience, and a sense of belonging to an exclusive club. It’s about making them feel special and valued, which is exactly what consumers expect from luxury brands.”
The concept of scarcity isn’t new for high-end brands either. Enzo Ferrari, the father of the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer famously said, “Ferrari will always deliver one car less than the market demands”.
“Ferrari highlights a fundamental principle in luxury branding: the deliberate creation of scarcity,” says Jon Michail, CEO of corporate and personal brand image advisory Image Group International.
“This technique is not just about limiting supply but about crafting a positioning and image of exclusivity and unattainability that even Lamborghini could not beat.
“Scarcity creates urgency and elevates perceived “psychological” status, crucial elements for luxury brands. This perception is vital as it differentiates luxury brands from mass and mid-market options, reinforcing their unique value proposition and maintaining their premium and/or ultra-premium positioning.”
So, what’s next in the luxury sector? Experts predict luxury brands are likely to explore new and creative ways to further enhance their exclusivity and appeal.
“I see luxury brands are set to adopt more personalised and experiential techniques to enhance exclusivity and desirability,” says Brown. “A sophisticated online presence is now essential, but we’ll see luxury brands take more control over their sales channels, particularly online, by reducing distribution through online multi-brand retailers.
“This shift allows them to own the customer relationship which reinforces exclusivity and brand loyalty.”
As for the five-figure Birkin, retail insiders say only customers with an extensive purchase history with the French brand are offered the opportunity to buy one directly from a Hermès boutique.
However, pre-loved bags can often be found through online reselling websites such as priveporter.com (at the time of writing the lowest price Birkin available on priveporter.com was $AUD36,056).
According to Vogue, Hermès “boutiques have their own style offering, with infrequent deliveries and little notice as to which colourways or finishes will be available to purchase at any given moment. For this reason, customers who want a brand new bag should enquire in store and seek advice from Hermès sales experts”.
Even then, they can be hard to pin down, with Birkin bags, and the equally popular Kelly bag, subject to stringent quota systems worldwide.
Good luck.
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The voices reshaping how Australians think about money — and why credibility matters more than reach.
6 min
The best financial advice many Australians are receiving right now is not coming from licensed advisers charging by the hour. It is coming through a phone screen, in the ten minutes between work and dinner, from creators who have built credibility the hard way: by being right, being transparent, and being specific in a space where vagueness has always been the easy default.
This is not a ranking by follower count. Follower count is a measure of distribution, not of quality. What follows is a ranking by substance — credentials, accuracy, community depth, and the quality of what an audience actually learns from following these accounts. The distinction matters, because the Australians acting on this content are making real financial decisions with real money.
1- Queenie Tan – Corporate Authorised Representative; Co-Founder & Director, Invest With Queenie & Billroo
There are finance influencers who talk about building wealth, and there are those who document it in real time with receipts. Queenie Tan belongs firmly in the second category. Starting from a $400-per-week income, Tan built her net worth past $1 million while publishing the actual numbers — income, savings rate, investment decisions — for an audience of more than 400,000 across platforms.
She is a Corporate Authorised Representative, co-founder of the personal finance app Billroo, and the author of a book that has become a practical reference for young Australians navigating ETFs, superannuation and property. What separates her from the crowded field of money educators is precision: she does not talk in principles when she can talk in percentages.
2- Alan Kohler – Editor-in-Chief, Eureka Report; Editor-in-Chief, InvestSMART Group; ABC News finance presenter, host of Inside Business.
If Queenie Tan represents the new wave of personal finance creators, Alan Kohler represents something the new wave will spend decades trying to build: institutional credibility that has survived multiple economic cycles. As Editor-in-Chief of the Eureka Report and InvestSMART Group, and a decades-long presence on ABC News, Kohler has spent more than thirty years making financial analysis accessible without dumbing it down.
His coverage of RBA decisions, market movements and economic policy is cited by podcasters, journalists and fund managers alike. He is not chasing virality. He does not need to.
3- Aleks Nikolic – Corporate lawyer; host, Big Swinging Stocks podcast
Most finance creators address the mechanics of money. Aleks Nikolic addresses the psychology — and that distinction explains why her following is as loyal as it is. Operating as Broke Girl Wealth across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, Nikolic covers ETFs, crypto and investment strategy, but her real differentiator is a willingness to discuss the emotional architecture of financial decision-making.
Shame around debt. Fear around market volatility. The limiting beliefs that stop people acting on what they already know. In a space where confidence is routinely performed, her candour is a genuine competitive advantage.
4- Bryce Leske & Alec Renehan – Equity Mates Media
Equity Mates did not build a following. They built a media company. What began as a podcast by two friends learning to invest has grown into Australia’s most established investing media brand, covering ASX stocks, ETFs, global markets and fund manager interviews across podcast, social and YouTube.
The longevity is the credential. Equity Mates has operated through multiple market cycles, a global pandemic, and a generational shift in how Australians engage with investing — and its audience has grown through all of it. When the hosts speak, their listeners know they have been paying attention for years.
5- The Lazy CEO – CEO & Founder, Showpo; Shark Tank Australia investor
The metric that matters most on social media is not followers — it is engagement, because engagement signals trust. Jane Lu, known as The Lazy CEO, maintains an engagement rate of approximately 1.15 per cent on Instagram, which is exceptional for a finance account of his size. Her 242,000-plus followers are not passive consumers: they ask questions, share experiences and apply what they read.
Her content focuses on business finance and wealth building, and the active comment sections are the clearest possible evidence that her audience does not merely scroll past.
6- Tash Invests – Founder, Tash Lends; Forbes Australia 30 Under 30
Tash Invests built her following on a premise that sounds simple but is rarer in practice than it should be: she publishes the actual numbers. Not approximations or ranges or anonymised case studies — her salary, her savings rate, her portfolio value, her net worth, updated and on the record.
Having bought her first property at twenty-two and grown her documented net worth past $1 million, she has become the primary reference point for young Australians trying to understand what building wealth on a moderate income genuinely looks like. The specificity is the product.
7- David Scutt – APAC Market Analyst at StoneX Group
The authority of most finance social media content rests on research and reading. David Scutt‘s authority rests on having done the job. A former Treasury Dealer at Arab Bank and the Commonwealth Bank, former ASX Business Supervisor, and former Global Markets Editor at Business Insider Australia and anchor at ausbiz TV, Scutt now brings that direct market experience to his role as APAC Market Analyst at StoneX Group, rather than relying on secondary commentary.
When he discusses foreign exchange movements or ASX dynamics, it is not because he has read about them. It is because he has traded them.
8- Meddy Demars – Investing & crypto content creator
The gap Meddy Demars fills is specific and underserviced: connecting global macroeconomic events to the practical reality of Australian investors. When the US Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates, when inflation data moves, when commodity prices shift — most Australian finance content either ignores the local implications or translates them poorly.
Demars, operating across TikTok and Instagram from Sydney, does the translation well: explaining what global conditions mean for Australian stocks, savings rates and investment portfolios in terms that are accessible without being condescending.
9- Simran Kaur – Founder, Friends That Invest
Friends That Invest is arguably the most successful community-building exercise in Australian personal finance, and Simran Kaur is the reason why. The New Zealand-based creator — whose audience is predominantly Australian — built a podcast, a book and a social media presence around a single insight: that the personal finance world was not speaking to young women, and that the consequences of that gap were significant.
The measurable cultural shift that followed — women engaging with investing concepts in communities that had not previously existed — is the kind of impact that most financial literacy programmes aim for and rarely achieve.
10- Effie Zahos – Money Editor at 9News
Effie Zahos is one of Australia’s most recognised financial commentators, appearing regularly across 9News, A Current Affair, Today and Today Extra as 9News Money Editor. Her role puts everyday money questions, from mortgage rates to cost-of-living pressures, in front of a national broadcast audience.
Before television, she spent years as editor of Money magazine, building the editorial foundation for her current commentary. She is also Director and Money Commentator at InvestSMART, an ambassador for Canstar, and a published author, with her financial advice available in print as well as on screen.
That combination, decades of editorial experience, an active broadcast presence, and a body of published work, is what makes her commentary carry weight beyond any single platform or post.
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