Hermès Birkin Bags Outperform the S&P 500

According to a research study by resale marketplace Baghunter, you’d do better putting your money in a (Birkin) bag than in the stock market or gold.

The study looked at returns from the S&P 500, gold and Hermès Birkin bags from 1980, when the Birkin bag was released, to 2015. At its highest point, the S&P 500 offered a 37.5% return on investment, gold offered a 14.3% return and Birkin bags offered a 25% return. Market fluctuations bring the average returns down quite a bit however. While stocks and gold hit lows that brought their average return down to an 11.66% nominal rate and 1.9% respectively, the Birkin bag hasn’t decreased in value since its launch.

At price points that put it in the ultra-luxury category, Baghunter founder Evelyn Fox suggests that the stability of returns aren’t subject to the same market fluctuations of other commodities.

“There is a difference between luxury and ultra-luxury. While the luxury market suffers during worse economic times the ultra-luxury market is impervious to economic factors that can affect other industries such as high-street retail and stock markets,” she says. {Luxury Daily}

While that’s certainly a positive indicator for bag collectors, Hermes typically announces Q4 sales results in February so those who still prefer to stick with stocks will have to wait to see if the company can match the returns of its most famous product. The most recent investor release for Q1-Q3 2015 reported 9% growth at adjusted exchange rates, with leather goods and gold jewelry growing fastest year over year.