For those of you who aren't up on your international currency news, the value of the euro fell recently to its lowest point in over a decade. We won't go into exactly how that happens, because all you really need to understand is that markets want their currency to be stronger, not weaker. According to the Wall Street Journal, a side effect of the dip is that luxury goods in cities like Paris are significantly cheaper than they are in the United States, which is great news for people with passports and the money as long as they don't bail on their bill.
After conversion rates, people have been saving as much as 30 percent on brands including Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada, and Chanel. Experts say that tourists from the states are shifting from buying souvenirs and other cheap gifts, to purchasing jewelry, leather goods, and other pricier items because of the deals to be had while overseas. As an example of the disparity, WSJ reports that a recent 4 percent price hike of a LV monogrammed canvas bag in Europe resulted in a new price tag of $733, while the same bag in the states, without the price increase, would still set you back $970.
It would seem that brands should be panicking, but LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is remaining calm. Chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony assured the Wall Street Journal that the company "has no plans to harmonize prices globally," and said that "what currencies have done, currencies can undo."
