Luxury Briefing: With searches up 900%, the men’s bag boom is upon us

August 22, 2024 Mary

This week, a look at how and why men are upping their accessories game. Plus, Tapestry and Capri make their case, and Beyoncé gets in bed with LVMH.

Influenced by the athletes and male celebrities carrying Bottega Veneta Cassettes and Hermès Birkins, more men are expanding their accessories investments from strictly sneakers to crossbodies and carryalls. With the luxury market slowing, the trend offers a growth opportunity for fashion brands and retailers.

“Men may not be watching what’s going on on the runways, but they no doubt saw [San Francisco 49ers running back] Christian McCaffrey at the Super Bowl carrying that massive rocker Birkin,” said Noelle Sciacca, associate director of fashion and new initiatives at The RealReal. “The image was all over social media and reached a new demographic to make bags more widely acceptable.”

On Wednesday, The RealReal debuted the 2024 iteration of its annual Resale Report recapping the year’s biggest trends in luxury resale, based on the shopping activity of its 37 million members. Many of the most compelling data points for the focus period of January 1 to July 31 were related to men’s shopping behavior on the platform. Most notably, men’s searches for handbags grew 900% year-over-year. Gen-X and millennial men bought the most bag units, while bag sales to Gen Z saw the most growth. The bag brands men browsed the most were Gucci, Fendi and Chanel — Gucci and Chanel were also among The RealReal’s 10 most-searched brands overall in the seven-month period. And men’s go-to styles were crossbodies and larger top-handle bags, both favorites of actor and popular handbag stan Jacob Elordi.

According to Sciacca, The RealReal’s price-based value proposition is what is bringing male bag shoppers to the site. And, on top of big celebs signing off on several styles, handbags’ practicality is adding to men’s interest in the category — bags make it easier to carry around an iPhone and wallet, after all.

The Resale Report also showed that men’s shopping activity has shifted from brands synonymous with streetwear to those best known for tailored suiting: Sales of Supreme, Off-White and Nike Jordan were down 25%, 34% and 35%, respectively. Meanwhile, sales of Brunello Cucinelli (+5%), Dior Men (+35%), Giorgio Armani (+34%) and Zegna (+33%) were on the upswing. Overall, suiting sales increased by 25%, and the average selling price for neckties went up 51%.

Pop culture’s influence is apparent in these stats: The RealReal saw a spike in Giorgio Armani sales in January when actor Jeremy Allen White wore the brand to accept an Emmy shortly after the release of his buzzy Calvin Klein ad.

“Over the last two years, ties have come back on the runways — not just [in the shows of] traditional brands, but also at Prada, Gucci and even JW Anderson,” Sciacca said. “[The look of the moment] is tailored, more traditional menswear, but it’s no longer about quiet luxury. Men are putting their own touches on it and wearing it outside of the office.” She noted that, in NYC’s Dimes Square, men are wearing Adidas striped shorts with banker-stripe button-down shirts, loafers and socks, reflecting a trendy look that feels made for a bodega run.

According to Sciacca, The RealReal markets to men in much the same way it markets to women. Its broader campaigns target both genders, while its segmented emails serve two purposes: They make “the hunt” easier by spotlighting new items in popular categories — The RealReal uploads thousands of new items twice a day, she said. They also feature brands and trends men may not know about to facilitate moments of discovery.

Despite streetwear’s sales decline, the first The RealReal purchase by male shoppers is most often a pair of sneakers, Sciacca said. Outerwear is the second most common, followed by T-shirts and suits. She also noted that The Real Real has “a fast-growing cohort” of male sellers.

On August 6, for the three months ending June 30, The RealReal reported gross merchandise value of $441 million, reflecting an increase of 4% year-over-year, and revenue of $145 million, up 11%. When asked about The RealReal’s customer behavior amid luxury’s widely reported slowdown, president and COO Rati Levesque noted that the company’s buyers were up 9% year-over-year in the quarter.

Tapestry and Capri Holdings file their opposition to the FTC

On Tuesday night, to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, Tapestry, Inc. and Capri Holdings Limited formally filed their opposition to the FTC’s motion to block their deal. In 2023, Capri agreed to an $8.5 billion sale to Tapestry, but according to the FTC, the deal stands to lessen competition and create a monopoly within accessible luxury. The case is expected to go to trial on September 9.

According to the filing, “Plaintiff’s entire theory in challenging this transaction rests on a fallacy that, after the merger, Tapestry intends to eliminate competition among Coach, Kate Spade and Michael Kors … That is not true. Tapestry has no incentive or plans to merge the brands, share pricing information between the brands or to otherwise limit innovation. … This transaction has never been about eliminating a competitor. … The entire purpose of the deal is to drive more sales and, in antitrust parlance, increase output. Any suggestion to the contrary is without evidence, ignores all the testimony and is a red herring.”