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This does happen to an extent with smaller upstart brands.

For instance, in men's shoes, Grant Stone made a name for themself offering a very similar, albeit even better built, product to Alden for roughly half the price.

In guitars we see companies like Eastman doing a similar labor arbitrage producing products similar to Martin and Gibson.

The key though are price savings. These could be argued to be 'luxury' to an extent in that they're notably quality products, but the attraction is the savings from labor passed onto the customer.

The type of luxury we're dealing with for the Birkin's of the world is based on brand cache more than anything else. Price is simply not a factor, so it doesn't make any sense to take measures to reduce it. Worse, the moment a brand gives a hint that they're doing anything remotely cost cutting is going to be catastrophic as it goes against their 'spare no expense' mantra.



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