When shopping at Hermès, the only constant is change. Are you ready for the new rules?
Overheard at Hermès’ Madison Avenue: “You can’t buy any more Mini Kelly bags right now. I’m sorry. Your account is too Mini Kelly heavy.”
This isn’t your most recent shopping nightmare. It’s just one of several “new rules” that Hermès has pronounced upon its clientele over the past few months. From rumor to possibility to hard-and-fast in no time flat, these rules streamline customer expectations, although they also frustrate established clients by creating new and unanticipated (some might call them artificial) limits on those who have been playing by the old rules.
While most of these new rules are not yet established – and there will be some variation in how strictly they are applied, whether per boutique or per client – these are recent changes that you should be prepared to work with in the near future.
Why the Changes at Hermès for 2025?
To some extent, this has been enabled by corporate consolidation. Over the past 15 or so years, Hermès has been trying to bring all of its boutiques under the corporate banner. Previously, while most boutiques have been corporately owned, there have always been a few that were not.
This may have been due to a lack of corporate readiness to risk entry into a particular market or served as a basis for establishing local relationships; regardless, privately owned boutiques were a niche with their own benefits and drawbacks.
Privately owned boutiques were local in character and, therefore, more driven by (and responsive to) the local market; this was particularly noticeable when it came to purchasing decisions made at podium. Private boutiques were also technologically off the grid, with no corporate notice of individual client purchases; this could be a plus for those who could afford to carry the “pre-spend” at multiple boutiques.
However, private boutiques suffered unique drawbacks, including being less likely to receive special items (such as push offers and high-demand items), less reliable stock delivery, less clarity on management, and a closed technology system, which prevented a corporate-client relationship (the flip side of corporate never knowing what a client purchases also means that client’s pre-spend remains at zero).
Very few privately owned boutiques remain, enabling greater corporate control. This was a necessary prerequisite for the new rules so that they may be applied more consistently.
The New Hermès Rules Already at Play
The following New Rules have been confirmed to me to already be in somewhat widespread use (multiple instances at multiple boutiques in more than one country):
- New Rule: You Won’t Be Able To Buy More Of Your Favorite Style
As referenced in the nightmare conversation above, Hermès wants to discourage its clients from buying the same styles over and over. While we don’t yet know exactly how many is considered too many and within what time frame this purchasing limit will be applied, it’s probably a good idea to be ready to pick a different style if your SA requests it.
- New Rule: The Definition Of A “Quota Bag” Is Expanding
The term Quota Bag – and its attendant two-per-year purchasing limit – has previously been used to refer to Birkins and regular (Sellier/Retourne) Kellys, but not the various Kelly-based designs (like the Kelly Pochette, Elan, and Danse) or the Constance.
Now, it appears that some boutiques are applying the two-per-year limit to most iterations of Kelly and Constance bags, along with all Birkins.
Your Mileage May Vary
The following New Rules have been confirmed to me to have been applied to some clients but are not yet widespread:
- New Rule: One Account Per Client
Along with the physical consolidation of the boutiques comes the technological consolidation of client information, including the accounts each client uses to make purchases. Whereas previously, a client could have her own purchasing account plus another account with her spouse, now that client must choose which account to keep to make all of her future purchases under.
- New Rule: Household/Joint Accounts Will Be Treated Differently
Further, should that client choose to keep the household/joint account (instead of her own personal one) for her future purchases, those purchases will be limited to in-store purchases only, and quota bags will not be offered.
- New Rule: One Shipping Address Per Client
Each purchasing account can only have one mailing address, and any purchases that need to be shipped will only be shipped to that one address listed in the account profile.
Winter Is (Still!) Coming
The following New Rules have been widely discussed but are not yet happening:
- New Rule: The Global Quota System
Hermès clearly intends to firmly implement the two-quota-bags-per-year rule for the majority of its clients. This would be the ultimate realization of near-complete corporate ownership and technological consolidation.
The reality is, however, not quite yet. Hermès is still selling more than the Quota amount regularly (one acquaintance recently returned from a month-long multinational trip with not one but TWO 20cm Birkins). At best, this is still in the Your Mileage May Vary zone and not a firmly applied rule. As with everything Hermès, however, stay tuned.
- New Rule: Special Orders Will Be Offered To New Clients
This is a rule I have heard about from multiple sources, but I can personally attest to the flexibility factor on this one.
After placing and receiving three Special Orders (SOs), my SA told me in early 2021 that while he and Hermès were grateful for my continued relationship, they wanted to be able to offer one of these limited slots to a client who hadn’t previously been given the opportunity to place their own SO.
This was fine with me until that fall, when the new SO list of colors was released, and for the first time, Rose Sakura was an option. I notified my beloved SA, who declared it a Special Order Emergency and told me I must come in and place my Rose Sakura SO immediately, which I did.
That was that. My Rose Sakura SO was delivered in December 2022, and in October 2023, I was offered another SO slot. This leads me to conclude that this is not new, and it may not be so much of a rule as a guideline, which may be implemented at some point in the SA-Client relationship.
Bag production still does not meet demand, and SO slots are even harder to come by, so it’s not surprising that Hermès would want, when practicable, to offer the opportunity to newer clients.
Not a Rule
There have been a few changes that aren’t quite rules but rather practical, management-driven processes that streamline the client experience and benefit everyone—the client, the Sales Associate, and the corporate entity.
- Not A Rule: Reserve lists for EVERYTHING
I have overheard quite a bit of chatter lately about the use of reserve lists for anything that is not currently in stock. This is as old and as typically Hermès as Hermès gets. I recall many years ago, I desperately wanted a Collier de Chien bracelet in Noir with Gold Hardware; the then-new Madison Avenue boutique had several CDCs in various fun colors like Vert Anis and Bordeaux, but not Noir, so I was put on a list for one.
To the best of my knowledge, I am STILL on the list for a black CDC bracelet with GHW.
Reserve lists are not a bad idea but are rather a practical solution to a perpetual problem: otherwise, you will need to either be very lucky and happen to be at the boutique when your desired item is in stock, or you will have to constantly pester your SA to check.
While not new, reserve lists may now be more widely utilized due to the growth of Hermès’ client base and the greater visibility of current-season offerings.
As for me, the only difference I have noticed with a more recent reserve list experience is that it is being utilized more effectively: in October, I was interested in the new Jaimy Boots, but the boutique did not have my size, so my SA added me to the list; in early December, I was able to purchase them, and there was neither a required deposit nor a required purchase of the reserved item.
- Not A Rule: Appointments
As a general matter, an appointment at Hermès is not required. You can walk right into nearly any Hermès boutique, anywhere in the world, without an appointment; you will be assigned a Sales Associate, and you can make a purchase.
That said, many clients do make appointments, as a matter of both courtesy and practicality. When you make an appointment, you are given a time slot (usually an hour), and you will have your SA’s attention and assistance for the length of that time slot. If you walk in without an appointment, your SA may not be available to work with you.
Further, when you book an appointment you can let your SA know exactly what you are interested in seeing (and perhaps purchasing); this will help your SA set their own expectations about your time together and this encourages your SA to ensure that those items will be available for you.
Are there any other new rules you have been hearing about lately? Please add them in the comments below!
