Defendant: an Hermès handbag

When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for "antitrust" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

Many brands are gleeful. For long, brands have wondered how Hermès, a luxury leader, has managed to hold on to its strategy of rarity and snob value at the risk of losing a sale. Some industry watchers are worried, as American judges are famously pro-consumer.

In March, the plaintiffs Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga filed a suit in San Francisco, California, stating Hermès was indulging in the "unlawful practice of tying".

This means it made its customers purchase smaller products such as shoes, scarves, ties and costume jewellery before being allowed to purchase one of their two mega products, the Birkin bag or the Kelly purse. Both the Birkin and Kelly have been the subject of various books, blogs and films, thanks to the almost mythical marketing Hermès employs to promote them. The waitlist for a Birkin and Kelly can go into several months or years, giving rise to a famous saying, "You don't choose an Hermès bag, it chooses you."