How to bring home the Birkin...from Delhi

Hermes has opened its first India store — after CEO Patrick Thomas’ promise “to many Indian ladies” to help them bag a Birkin, says Anoothi Vishal

You may have been content to pick up an occasional tie or a scarf for the significant other from one of their airport outlets in the past. But, now, a visit to the new Hermes boutique at the Oberoi, New Delhi, India’s first, is likely to be much more satisfying.

For one, the store is “singing”, or at least that’s how Patrick Thomas, CEO Hermes International, on a visit for the formal launch, puts it — something that he says he likes to see at all the brand’s flagship outlets worldwide. “For that you need two things,” he elaborates, “first, the store should look colourful, second, there should be an element of surprise each time a customer walks in.” The Delhi Hermes boutique seems to meet both these requirements at least for now.

Walk in and you will be surprised not just by colour and a huge “beloved India” scarf (Rs 17,500; 90 cm x90 cm) pinned up as the main display, but also by a range of entirely appropriate India-inspired products — “colourful and sensual”, as Thomas says, or “that’s how we perceive India to be”. The India theme is a happy coincidence.

Hermes, each year, plans its campaign around one destination or subject. This year, that is India. With the campaign, Indian fantasies, having been planned about two years in advance, thought turned to “why not open a store in India alongside?” And so here we are.

Stoles, scarves, bangles and other small gift items with Indian motifs, patterns and colours often closely echoing the country’s rich craft sensibilities rub shoulders with the usual pick-me-ups. And while “it is not necessary to spend millions” here, “we don’t mind it if you do!”, says Thomas, tongue firmly in cheek.

While small impulse purchases (including a scarf with a Kantha embroidery-look by Indian designer Ramesh Nair based in Paris, also one with Rajastahni-horse motifs) can come for under Euros 150, roughly Rs 8,000 (buys in India are about 5-15 per cent higher than in Paris because of high duties the products attract), it is entirely possible that you may be taken in by something much more of a collectible.

While the smallest of gifts — a 45 cm X 45 cm scarf — are priced Rs 5,000 upwards, approximately, there are other luxuries too: Amongst the things that Thomas mentions is a weave from Chennai that has taken almost 400 manhours to do. The value of the product is Rs 2.5 lakh and as Thomas points“For a magical product, there will always be a customer.”

Actually, while the house is known to make 80 per cent of its products in its own workshops (only outsourcing in categories such as “fashion” and jewellery), many of the products have an India connection. In 2006, for instance, it unveiled its Paris-Bombay bag in a “shared homage to elegance in motion”. Way back in 1985, it had also come up with four silk scarves (silk being the second largest category that Indians buy from Hermes after bags) themed around India, including “Srinagar”.

And, this year, there is a new perfume inspired by Kerala (Rs 5,560; 100 ml). With the brand getting a foot into the country, Thomas hopes for closer give and take.

But where is the Birkin? The Hermes bag, named after British-born actress Jane Birkin, the epitome of luxury, if you like? According to some accounts, the bag first came into being after the actress was seated next to then CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a Paris-London flight and discussed her problem finding an appropriate weekend bag. You can, of course, attribute such stories and the legendary waiting period to procure a Birkin to the mystique of luxury.

At the India store, the Birkin is very much available (Rs 3 lakh plus for the smallest) and an assistant shows us a canary yellow one in crocodile leather. Er, so what about the waiting list that has inspired, amongst other things, a real-life account called Bringing home the Birkin? “Officially”, says Thomas, “there is no waiting list. But every time I meet an Indian lady at a party, she asks for my help in getting a Birkin. So I guess, people are always waiting for it!”

If you think, this is esoteric, here is an explanation: Since a Birkin bag is available in several different leathers and colours, it may be difficult to procure your exact requirement immediately. A smaller bag in crocodile leather, for instance, may be easier to come by than a larger one because for that exact length “you will need a 15-year-old crocodile. So, though we have our own farms, you may have to wait.”

While the brand is only testing the Indian market as yet, along with Brazil, it is important “in the medium term”. The US and Europe, may be scarred by the downturn “I fear”, says Thomas, “and we still don’t know the extent of the damage since in teh US they lie about it.

We’ll only know after the elections.” China will also be hit, he says — though it has been growing at 50 per cent along with the Middle-East. Meanwhile, Indians, he feels, who have always been acquainted with fine things, will make for discerning buyers. “Yours is a knowledgeble society, not taken in by screaming loud labels.” Let’s hope that’s why you are strolling down to the store!