Just released: Our latest Sports Collectibles Market Report!
Tomorrow at noon, a Hermes 30CM Himalaya Birkin bag is set to IPO on Rally. The financials:
The Background
• Not a fan of 60’s-70’s British and French cinema?... Well, we don’t blame you. But then you probably haven’t heard of Jane Birkin, an English-French actress, singer, songwriter, model, and namesake to the famous Hermès tote bags.
• Sick Bag Turned Hand Bags... In 1984 Jane found herself sitting next to Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight. She complained to him about the size of currently available bags, and sketched her ideal design on a sick bag. Jean-Louis was inspired to make the bag she outlined. The rest, as they say...
• Is Crazy Expensive... because designer bags endorsed by celebrities made from cowhide, ostrich, and crocodile don’t come cheap. PETA wants us to move on. So enough about the collection at large. Let’s talk about...
• The Holy Grail of Hand Bags... The Himalaya Birkin is the most desirable and valuable bag in the Hermès Birkin collection. The process of dying a crocodile hide to matte white is time consuming and increasingly difficult as the shades lighten, so only one or two of these bags are made per year. Albino crocodiles exist, but are hard to come by. Hermès spares our melanin deficient friends.
The Takeaway
• It's Accurately Priced... This is new for us, but we'd like people to be very careful in their comps and we say so based on comps people have sent us over the last couple of days. There are different variations of this bag. It's not 50% off. Yes, several of these bags have sold for $300,000+, but those variations are encrusted with diamonds. Yes, some are priced at $265,000 online, but those versions are 35CM. Bottom line: Birkin's in general did appreciate 500% from 1980 to 2015, and this accurately priced Birkin should continue to appreciate, but please know what you're buying shares of, people!
• LaaS... That's our new term for "Luxury as a Sector". LaaS has received strong interest as indicated by IPO sell-out time and secondary market appreciation. One of two other Birkin bags to IPO on Rally, the Bleu Lézard Birkin, IPO'd at $58,000 and is up 6.03% after its first trading window on 4/28. The other, the Bordeaux Crocodile Birkin IPO'd at $52,500 and is currently in lockup prior to trading. As for watches, 3 of 5 have begun trading. 1 of those 3 is flat, the other two are both up, an average of 8.35%.
• Early Access… shows us this IPO is currently already 38% funded (as of 9 PM EST). Not only that, but investors are buying in bulk: 81 investors have purchased $54,180, which is an average investment of $669 per investor. The Himalaya Birkin opens to the public at 12 PM EST tomorrow on Rally.
Disclaimer: You understand that by reading Altan Insights, you are not receiving financial advice. No content published here constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You further understand that the author(s) are not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, transaction, or investment strategy. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether an investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal financial situation. Please speak with a financial advisor to understand if the risks inherent in trading are appropriate for you. Trade at your own risk.
