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名牌手袋——男士的至爱 Men go for luxury when choosing handbags: survey [ 2007-05-14 09:01 ] Men are more likely than women to optfor a luxury brand when buying handbags -- and it's the label, not theprice, that counts, according to a survey of wealthy shoppers. The Luxury Institute on Tuesday said the demand for luxury bags remainsstrong, with about one third of 1,500 wealthy American shoppers surveyedbuying a branded bag in the last 12 months. "The luxury handbag is the accessory that defines the wealthy woman andis a major profit driver for luxury fashion brands," said Milton Pedraza,chief executive of the New York-based researcher focused on wealthyconsumers. The Luxury Institute found that men were more likely than women toreach for a luxury label when buying a handbag -- 73 percent of men,compared with 50 percent of women -- and over three times more likely tochoose luxury French brand Chanel. But overall, U.S. label Coach has become the most popular bag amongwealthy shoppers, leading with a 29 percent market share with other brandscompete heavily for the rest of the pie. The survey of shoppers with an average income of $308,000 and averagenet worth of $3.1 million found Coach was the most familiar brand ofdesigner handbags, recognized by 52 percent of respondents. That compared to 24 percent for Gucci, 22 percent for Louis Vuitton,and 21 percent for Prada. But familiarity with the pricier Italian brands rises as wealthincreases, according to the report. Looking at consumers whose yearly paycheck was above $300,000, thesurvey found that 38 percent were familiar with Coach, while 34 percentwere aware of Gucci. Price did not come into the equation even though bags from luxuryfashion houses such as Chanel, Prada and Gucci, can cost in the thousandsof dollars, while Coach bags generally cost hundreds of dollars. Consumers said the price was not as important a consideration asquality and reputation when judging between luxury brands. (AP) | 
