Walmart sells “replica” Hermès bag for R$480 — and generates a wave of love and hate

This year, Walmart has proven itself to be the master of imitations. The retailer appealed to both low- and high-income families by offering low prices on products that appear high quality, including many items that look like they belong in stores like Pottery Barn, a chain of furniture stores, or Crate & Barrel, which sells of decoration.

And the “Wirkin” — the replica of Hermès’ illustrious Birkin bag — is perhaps the most popular of Walmart’s designer offerings. The $78 knockoff of the luxury bag, which ranges from $10,000 to $40,000 for a new one, or more than $300,000 on the resale market, is trending on social media.

Walmart’s Birkin bag, which is listed as “KAMUGO Genuine Leather Handbags Purse for Women,” in fact, was so successful that it appears to have sold out on Walmart’s website. Walmart did not immediately respond to Amazon’s request for comment on whether the product was completely sold out or would be restocked.

“No matter what your budget, we have something to offer,” a Walmart spokesperson told . “It can make people feel really proud of what they’re putting on the table in terms of food, or clothing, or the makeup they’re buying, from a beauty perspective.”

The Walmart bag is also made from leather and comes with Birkin’s signature clasp feature.

However, owners of authentic Birkin bags have been less enthusiastic about Walmart’s version of the exclusive bag. According to Sotheby’s, customers must have a purchasing history with Hermès to purchase a Birkin. Hermès did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The bag you see on the Walmart website is not a Birkin,” said one TikTok user while holding up her authentic Birkin bag. “It’s not made by Hermès. It has no affiliation with Hermès or Birkin. It’s a duplicate. A copy. An inspired piece. It’s not a Birkin. Please don’t think you are buying a Birkin. Because you’re not.”

Hermès Birkin, which calls it a “globally recognized emblem of status and wealth,” has become so expensive that the value of handbags has grown faster than the S&P 500 and the price of gold — with a return on investment of more 500% over 35 years, according to a study by the online marketplace Baghunted.

Walmart and imitation

Walmart’s Birkin bag craze is just the latest boost for the world’s largest retailer, which has had a strong performance in 2024. The company was particularly pleased with the increase in one customer base: people earning more than $100 thousand per year.

“We had a really strong quarter,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey said after the third-quarter earnings report in November. The company saw gains across all product categories and income brackets, and about 75% of its share gains came from households earning more than $100,000 a year, Rainey said, a slice of the population typically associated with shopping. at Target.

Mastering imitations coincides with demographic shifts in Walmart’s customer base. While some wealthier customers may technically opt for the “real thing” at a higher price, they are also more concerned about finding the best value for a product, Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of fractional CMO services firm RiseOpp, previously said. to Fortune.

Walmart “mixed premium products with its signature affordability, making it socially acceptable for high-income shoppers to say, ‘I bought this at Walmart,’” Vahdat said.