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The French luxury brand Hermès was in a legal battle against the plaintiffs (Tina Cavalleri, Mark Glinoga, and Mengyao Yang) who stated that the brand was partaking in an unlawful scheme that rewards the highest spenders in their stores with the highly coveted Birkin or Kelly handbag. The more Hermès products (scarves, hats, clothing items, or home products) you purchased, the more likely you are to receive a Birkin. The plaintiffs also argued that Hermès lied about the availability of Birkin and Kelly bags and asserted claims under both federal antitrust laws and various California state laws.

The plaintiffs lodged various complaints, but each of them was dismissed as they failed to “plausibly allege relevant product markets, [Hermès’] market power within those markets, or an injury that the antitrust laws were intended to prevent.” They launched two final complaints in May 2024 and October 2024 to defend and prove their original statement of attempting to address the company’s practices to “artificially inflate the true prices of their handbags.”

The Verdict –

The California federal judge in charge of the case has dismissed the antitrust lawsuit which accused Hermès of illegally conditioning the sale of its coveted Birkin handbags on consumers’ willingness to purchase various Hermès products before being rewarded with a bag. Additionally, the claims of unlawful ‘tying’ arrangements in violation of the Sherman Act and California law were dropped against the brand.