Luxury French fashion house Hermès is being sued in the US over claims it only allows “worthy” customers to purchase its iconic Birkin handbags, the Guardian reports. The proposed federal class-action lawsuit was filed in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The suit claims Hermès violates antitrust laws by only giving people already buying something else from the retailer access to its iconic Birkin bags, which are named after the English actress Jane Birkin.
“Typically, only those consumers who are deemed worthy of purchasing a Birkin handbag will be shown a Birkin handbag,” the lawsuit claimed. It said this practice was used “as a way to coerce consumers to purchase ancillary products.”
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According to the lawsuit, the costly bags can’t be purchased online and are not on display in Hermès brick-and-mortar stores.
The Guardian says the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two California residents, but aims to include thousands of US Hermès customers who either bought the company’s products or were asked to buy them in their quest to purchase a Birkin bag.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order barring what they believe to be anticompetitive practices by Hermès.
