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 Federal Budget may have softened some of its proposed tax reforms, but it has exposed a bigger issue: too many families are relying on wealth structures that no longer reflect the realities of modern life.
3 min
For many Australians, the 2026 Federal Budget initially felt like a direct challenge to the way wealth is created, held and transferred between generations.
The headlines were immediate: changes to capital gains tax, reforms to discretionary trusts, restrictions on negative gearing and increased scrutiny of investment structures. Unsurprisingly, affluent families, business owners and investors began asking the same question:
Is the way we hold our wealth still fit for purpose?
In recent days, the government has announced several significant amendments following industry consultation and public feedback, including exempting testamentary trusts from the proposed 30 per cent minimum tax and expanding capital gains tax concessions for small businesses.
The backdown is welcome. But it also highlights something much bigger.
This Budget has accelerated a conversation that many Australian families have been postponing for years.
The conversation is not really about tax. It is about wealth stewardship.
For decades, Australians have built wealth through businesses, property, investments and careful long-term planning. Yet many families have not revisited the legal structures surrounding those assets in years, sometimes decades.
We often see clients who have spent years building significant wealth, only to discover their legal arrangements no longer reflect their current circumstances.
Their children are now adults. They may own multiple properties.
They may have sold a business, entered a second marriage, become grandparents or accumulated digital assets that did not exist when their original estate plans were prepared.
The trust that distributes income may need to be reconsidered. The bucket company may no longer be so attractive.
The Budget has simply exposed a reality that already existed: wealth structures cannot remain static while life continues to evolve.
Importantly, trusts themselves are not the issue.
Trusts are legitimate planning tools that provide flexibility, protection and continuity. When used appropriately, they allow families to adapt to changing circumstances over time.
And neither is tax the issue, really. Getting the fundamentals right is more important for long-term, sustainable wealth than a few favourable tax treatments around the edges.
The real issue is complacency.
Too often, families create structures and assume the job is done. It isn’t.
Estate planning is no longer a document you sign once and file away in a drawer. It is an ongoing process that should evolve alongside your life.
We are also seeing a broader shift in how Australians define wealth itself. It is no longer just the family home and an investment portfolio.
Modern wealth includes businesses, digital assets, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, frequent flyer points and increasingly complex family arrangements.
At the same time, Australians are living longer than ever before, meaning wealth may need to support multiple generations simultaneously. This creates new responsibilities and new risks.
How do you help your children enter the property market without exposing family wealth to relationship breakdowns?
How do you structure wealth so that it remains a source of opportunity rather than future conflict?
These are the questions families should be asking now.
The recent debate surrounding testamentary trusts also serves as an important reminder that policy decisions can have unintended consequences for vulnerable Australians. It is encouraging that the government has listened to feedback and clarified its position.
But the lesson remains: the wealth landscape is changing.
Increasingly, governments, regulators and tax authorities are paying closer attention to how wealth is held and transferred. That means families cannot afford to adopt a “set-and-forget” approach to their structures.
The families who will be best placed for the future are not necessarily those with the greatest wealth.
They are the families with the greatest clarity. Clarity around ownership, succession and governance. And clarity around how wealth will transition from one generation to the next.
Ultimately, preserving wealth is not about avoiding change.
It is about preparing for it.
Because the greatest risk is not change itself.
It is losing the ability to respond to it.
Anthony Hunt is Co-Founder of Wealth Lawyers and former COO of Westpac Private Bank. He advises business owners, investors and affluent Australian families on wealth protection, succession planning and intergenerational wealth transfer
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