The luxury world had a collective meltdown this week over rumors that The Row’s status-symbol Margaux handbag would be discontinued. First thing’s first: It’s not, calm down. No need to panic buy or search for “the next Margaux.” (For the inspired, Lyst tells me they’ve seen a 262 percent increase in demand for Cos’s bowling bag in the past three months.)
Instead, The Row is wisely tightening the bag’s distribution to create more scarcity, boost exclusivity (of an already hard-to-get item), and maintain iron-clad control over who sells it. Going forward, you might need a direct hookup with a sales associate from The Row’s own retail stores instead of simply heading to Net-a-Porter or Mytheresa; the third-party retailer inventory is indeed drying up. The strategy will frustrate some retailers, and customers who don’t regularly visit The Row on Melrose Place or the Upper East Side, or in Paris or London, but this kind of inventory management and control maintenance is pretty standard in luxury fashion—especially when people are buying up stock just to resell for a profit.
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