| Louis Vuitton bags don't come very cheap. At least, | | | | Yet another reason why bags cost what they do has |
| they are not the cheapest of handbags. Yet | | | | to do with the brand building that the makers have had |
| thousands, if not millions of women continue to | | | | to invest in (think of things like celebrity endorsements |
| purchase the Louis Vuitton bags - seemingly oblivious | | | | and massive endorsements) that have finally made |
| of their price; and of the fact that there are a number | | | | Louis Vuitton the big brand it is today. |
| of other apparently cheaper handbag brands out there. | | | | Turning to the value proposition that bags offer, which |
| So why do bags cost what they do - and what value | | | | makes people to continue paying a little more for them; |
| do they offer for money, so as to make people to | | | | we can identify at least three different elements, |
| continue purchasing them, rather the numerous other | | | | namely durability, beauty and class. |
| 'cheaper' handbag brands? | | | | Starting with durability - which is a function of the pure |
| One reason why Louis Vuitton bags cost what they | | | | leather base from which Louis Vuitton bags are made |
| do has to be the material they are made of, namely | | | | and the high workmanship employed in making them; it |
| real pure leather. This pure leather, while definitely the | | | | turns out to be a great attraction to many |
| best possible material for making handbags, does not | | | | value-conscious people, who are wary of going for a |
| really come cheap - though its small extra cost is | | | | cheaper bag, only to find themselves shopping for |
| something that it makes up for in many other ways | | | | another one a few months down the line - the first |
| mentioned in our discussion on the value bags offer. | | | | one having come apart so soon after purchase. |
| Another reason as to why Louis Vuitton bags cost | | | | Turning to beauty, it is an incontestable fact that Louis |
| what they do has to do with the workmanship that | | | | Vuitton bags are aesthetically appealing, and that they |
| goes into making them. Being high-end items, bags are | | | | tend to maintain their visual appeal even after a |
| definitely not 'run off the mill' mass produced items (as | | | | considerable period of use, which is unlike many |
| there would be no way of guaranteeing quality in such | | | | lower-end bags that lose their luster the moment they |
| a production system). Of course, while this is not to | | | | leave the vendor's store-stairs. |
| say that each Louis Vuitton handbag is hand-sewn - | | | | Turning to class (which is a function of the celebrity |
| since there is admittedly a lot of mechanization in the | | | | endorsements and massive advertising investment |
| process that produces the bags, it is to say that there | | | | that the makers of bags make); it turns out that being |
| is a lot of human involvement in the process, in quality | | | | spotted wearing a Louis Vuitton bag instantly and |
| checking and rectification measures, in order to come | | | | subconsciously makes it apparent to the person |
| up with the premium product that is a Louis Vuitton | | | | spotting you that you are a person of distinguished and |
| bag. Since human effort costs money, it is | | | | sophisticated tastes, a fashion conscious person and |
| understandable that Louis Vuitton bags come a little | | | | generally a person of 'class' - all being features we |
| dearer than the mass produced 'run of the mill bags' - | | | | would all love to be spotted in us. |
| whose quality, of course, tends to be quite dubious. | | | | |
