Where to go for maintenance after buying a luxury bag
Release Time:
2012-04-11 15:49
Source:
Beijing Youth Daily
Most luxury brands' after-sales service becomes a weak point; various care shops charge exorbitant fees———
With economic development, China has become an emerging market for international luxury brands. In recent years, some luxury brands that had not entered the Chinese market have had to pay attention to this fertile ground. However, while major luxury brands are accelerating expansion, consumers are facing difficulties with after-sales service. A bag costing thousands is bought home, but when it gets dirty or damaged, the big stores don't care, and small shops charge high prices. Consumers complain that buying a branded bag has become a "one-time" consumption.
●Discovery
Counters do not provide cleaning services
Recently, office worker Ms. Cao took her classic white LV Damier shopping bag to the counter for cleaning, but was unexpectedly refused by the sales staff.
According to Ms. Cao, as spring approached and she planned to take out the bag to carry, she found obvious stains on it.
What surprised Ms. Cao was that the LV counter sales staff told her: "We do not provide cleaning services here." The staff also advised Ms. Cao not to take the bag to other repair or cleaning shops because if the coating on the bag's surface is damaged, the boutique will not be responsible for repairs.
Similarly, Ms. Sun, who purchased a Dior bag, also encountered repair difficulties. Ms. Sun told the author that the hardware on her Dior backpack had problems, so she took it to the counter for repair.
The sales staff said that since Ms. Sun's bag was out of warranty, it could not be repaired for free. The broken hardware was not available domestically and the bag needed to be sent back to France, to the factory for specialized repair or remanufacture.
Calculations showed that Ms. Sun would have to wait at least two to three months to repair a hardware ring, and pay thousands of yuan in repair fees, enough to buy another bag. Ms. Sun had no choice but to give up the repair.
Afterwards, the author called multiple LV stores in Beijing and all replied that cleaning was not available in-store. When the author asked what to do if the bag was dirty, the staff recommended a luxury goods maintenance shop that cooperates with the direct store.
The author called this luxury maintenance shop and said they wanted to clean a medium-sized LV shopping bag. The shop quoted over 600 yuan and said white might be more expensive.
●Visit
Care shops mostly "pull business" from counters
Recently, the author visited a luxury leather care shop recommended by LV sales staff, where dozens of luxury brand bags were displayed.
Staff member Ms. Tang introduced that the store has been operating for three years. Due to the growing popularity of luxury goods domestically, business has been good since opening, always in a state of stock pressure.
When the author asked about the specific cleaning range, Ms. Tang said the store can clean almost all luxury brand products including LV, Gucci, Prada, Hermès, BV, etc.
According to Ms. Tang, cleaning prices vary by brand and bag style. For example: Prada fabric bags cost 220-300 yuan for cleaning, leather bags 280-380 yuan; LV bags start at 300 yuan; and top luxury Hermès bags start at 600 yuan.
However, the staff said members can enjoy discounts.
When the author mentioned being in the luxury goods purchasing business and often needing to clean bags for customers, thus cleaning in large quantities at once, the staff revealed there are internal discounts but the lowest discount price can only be given after seeing the actual bags.
The author pressed repeatedly, but the staff refused to disclose detailed prices, only saying that if the annual cleaning amount exceeds 20,000 yuan, the store will offer a big discount.
The author then visited a luxury leather care store in Chongwenmen. The person in charge, Mr. Wu, revealed that his store mainly accepts customers recommended by some counter sales assistants.
Mr. Wu said he does not have cooperation with counters but contacts some counter sales assistants by handing out business cards and obtains customer resources through rebates.
When the author suggested also introducing customers to his store for cleaning, Mr. Wu readily said he could give the author a rebate of about 20%.
In other words, if a customer recommended by the author pays 300 yuan for cleaning, the author can get at least 60 yuan rebate, and so on.
●Analysis
High profits in the maintenance industry
Besides "dedicated" luxury leather care shops, stores like Hanhuang also provide maintenance services for luxury goods, including dry cleaning, bathing, and repair of branded bags. The minimum cleaning and maintenance fee for branded bags is 300 yuan.
A staff member at a leather care shop told the author that as more consumers in China can afford luxury bags, the luxury maintenance business is becoming increasingly popular. Currently, luxury maintenance is recognized within the industry as a highly profitable sector.
According to the author’s understanding, for example, a routine maintenance for a leather bag costs several hundred to over a thousand yuan, while the cost is often only a few dozen yuan. The reason shops charge such high prices is partly because these high-end leather goods require professional tools and craftsmanship, and partly because consumers who own luxury goods have strong purchasing power and are not very sensitive to price.
When talking about the reasons for the good business in the past two years, many industry insiders said that because counters usually do not provide maintenance services, the "unauthorized channels" luxury goods care business has become so prosperous.
The author then reviewed the relevant national regulations and found that currently, there are no special "three guarantees" provisions for luxury goods due to their high value in the national regulations. For example, the return period for luxury goods is the same as for ordinary goods, which is 15 days, and the after-sales warranty period is also 3 months.
In this regard, most consumers believe that luxury brands' global stores should unify their after-sales services and should not implement double standards or treat customers differently based on the place of purchase.
● Extension
Service concerns behind luxury brands
The author learned that in recent years, foreign luxury brands have accelerated their expansion in China, and Chinese consumers' demand for luxury apparel and luxury bags and small leather goods has increased year by year. For example, in 2010, the local consumption of luxury apparel and luxury bags and small leather goods in China reached about 14 billion yuan and 12 billion yuan respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 30% and 37% from 2006 to 2010.
However, behind the rapid expansion, after-sales service has become a weak point in their development in China. The author found that well-known brands familiar to Chinese consumers such as LV, Gucci, and Coach currently do not provide free leather cleaning services.
Regarding repairs, several luxury brand managers stated that once a quality problem occurs, the store will take photos of the item and report it to the domestic headquarters for appraisal. After the consumer agrees to the issued repair plan, the product will be sent to the headquarters for repair and follow-up processing, which generally takes 1 to 3 months.
Staff at Burberry, Hermes, and other specialty stores said that consumers can enjoy after-sales service regardless of where the product was purchased, but consumers must provide relevant receipts; otherwise, the service will not be accepted. At the same time, regarding which parts can be repaired and which cannot, the staff said the company has complex regulations.
A luxury bag can cost thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, yet it does not provide the simplest cleaning service. When problems occur, not only is the repair time long, but the repair cost can also be over a thousand yuan. Many netizens lamented: "If it breaks, I can't afford to repair it; luxury bags have become disposable consumer goods."
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