A premium handbag reseller has started retail operations inside a major resort on the Las Vegas Strip and is banking on big spenders rolling through.
Prive Porter, which resells luxury Hermes handbags, opened a store in the Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian just ahead of the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix in November.
Being able to access people willing to spend big money is important for Prive Porter since the average price of its handbags is $35,000, said Jeffrey Berk, managing director Prive Porter, who runs the company along with his wife Michelle, who is founder and CEO. The price range for the handbags go from four-figures to six-figures depending on its type and style, he said.
“Years ago, when we realized we could get the supply of Birkins and Kelly’s we needed, we stopped carrying everything like Chanel. It’s just as easy to sell a $40,000 as a $4,000, if not easier,” Michelle Berk said.
This is the second retail location for Prive Porter in the U.S., the first is in Miami. The Las Vegas Strip was picked for its access to wealthy visitors and residents who live nearby, Jeffrey Berk said.
‘You only live once’
“There’s a huge element in Las Vegas of YOLO, you only live once, and fast money and impressing people,” he said. “Getting shut down at Hermes for a Birkin, it’s not going to be very long, when people are saying like, ‘Well screw it. I’m just gonna go over to the Venetian and Prive Porter where I could buy two, three, four at a time if we want to.’”
Although Prive Porter sells Hermes handbags, the store doesn’t get them directly from the manufacturer rather it gets its bags either from customers looking to sell their handbag or get trade-in value from Prive Porter. The company also utilizes a network of about a dozen other luxury handbag resellers from across the world, Berk said. Being able to get trade-ins from other luxury stores in Las Vegas is also a plus for having a retail location in the city, he said.
“So 50 to 60 percent of our business now are women who are walking into a store and they’re offered a bag they’re not crazy about and they’re coming right to our store or calling us even before they buy the bag,” he said. “They’re just coming right over to Prive Porter to say ‘Hey, can I sell it for a little bit of a profit?’ Or more importantly, or what happens a little more often is they say ‘What can I trade it for? If I give you the rose petal (handbag), how much more money do I have to pay you to get the bubble gum?’”
Prive Porter sells bags for a higher price than buying directly from Hermes, but the store offers more flexibility to fulfill customers desires since the brand will often limit certain releases to certain customers, Berk said. That makes it harder for other customers looking to buy a specific handbag (or one in a certain color) quickly from Hermes.
Social media prevails
The store only has about 650 square feet of floor space in the Grand Canal Shoppes as it only displays 50 at one time, he said. Two groups of customers are allowed in the store at a time due to security reasons, Berk said.
The Las Vegas store’s lease will end in early 2026 and Berk said it will evaluate its performance over the next two years to see if they want a long-term retail presence in Sin City. Berk said in-person retail isn’t a huge part of Prive Porter’s business and estimates about 20 to 25 percent of the company’s total sales come from its brick-and-mortar stores — the rest comes from Instagram.
Berk said the company could add more Prive Porter store locations across the globe as many of its customers are based outside the U.S., but as of now Prive Porter is just hoping those international customers make a trip to Las Vegas soon.
“The only way I can really tap into that super affluent Asian customer if not opening a store in Macau myself, where else can I capture that, if not in Las Vegas?” Berk said. “And I’m aware that customers really hasn’t come back yet to Las Vegas but I’m pretty bullish that it’s just right around the corner.”
Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.
