Prada Hikes Korean Prices for 3rd Time This Year
04 August, 2018
Italian luxury brand Prada has hiked the prices of some products for the third time this year amid Koreans' insatiable appetite for overpriced bling.
Prada raised the prices of about 10 products by three to 11 percent on Monday despite a favorable exchange rate.
The price of its flagship bucket bag rose 5.5 percent from W1.09 million to W1.15 million, and that of the large bucket bag went up 8.4 percent from W1.19 million to W1.29 million (US$1=W1,129).
With the two previous hikes, the price of some products has risen nearly 20 percent this year. The price of the small bucket bag was W970,000 in February and is now W1,150,000.
Prada has given no reasons, but luxury goods tend to get more desirable the more expensive they are since they have very little intrinsic value.
Some industry watchers therefore think Prada is trying to boost its image by appearing more exclusive.
According to data by the Korea Customs Service, Prada ranked eighth in sales among luxury brands in duty-free shops in 2013 but fell dropped out of the top 30 last year.