French brand’s paper bag costlier than labourer’s wage in Pakistan

LAHORE: In contrast to Rs32,000 minimum wage of a labourer in Pakistan, French luxury design house Hermes has introduced a diary size paper bag with a price of Rs34,800 ($125).

Available in A4 and A5 sizes, the reusable bag is used to carry diary or perfume. The price of the 7.5-inch paperweight of the same brand is Rs822,000 ($2,950) while the annual basic income of a college lecturer in Pakistan is less than it.

The price of the Hermes sandals is Rs21.4 million ($76,000). The brand is famous for sandals, handbags and other accessories. The price of world’s third most expensive Hermes Kelly Gold Rose bag is Rs557.4 million ($20 million). The fourth and fifth most expensive handbags are also from French brand with the price of Rs390 million ($1.4 million). Women have to wait for 3 to 4 years after booking the handbags of these brands. Hermes is among the richest families of the world, and also rated among luxurious brands of Europe. According to Bloomberg, the family owns over $151 billion wealth. In 2019, fashion designer Debbi Winghum introduced the most expensive handbag laced with 8,000 diamond stones at the price of $6.7 million. Mouawad handbag was the second most expensive at the price of Rs3.8 million. Famous for jewelry items, the brand got its name registered in the Guinness Book of World Record by presenting the most expensive handbag. According to property website, the price of 1,500 to 2,000 square feet house in Defence Karachi is around Rs200 million to Rs320 million whereas a bungalow in Lahore Defence is Rs70 million. On the other hand, the world’s most expensive shoes Moon Shoes were sold at Rs5.61 billion.