Newfound source for loan collateral – Handbags!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2013/08/18/the-latest-loan-collateral-hermes-chanel-gucci-dior-and-vuitton-handbags/#63ac4031348f

In the Forbes article by Cecilia Rodriguez, she discusses a new source of collateral that you can use to be able to take out a loan. This source is luxurious designer handbags such as, Louis Vuitton, Hermès & Chanel etc.

As most people, no matter how wealthy they are, tend to at some point in their lives take out a loan for something. Usually this tends to be for things such as houses where banks can reclaim the house if the person, who was granted the loan, is unable to pay it back.

It is now becoming a new trend amongst (mostly) women, to use their designer handbags as collateral when taking out a loan.

Since many handbags of designer brands can have a very high value, depending on how old they are (vintage) and if they are part of a very exclusive collection, using them as collateral is a clever and innovative way of handling your personal financial business.

Looking at this through the eyes of the person taking out a loan, it is a good alternative to using your house as collateral.

If you have been unable to pay back your loan and the bank is reclaiming the collateral, you would most likely be happier losing a handbag than losing your house.

However, even though some designer handbags may be of high worth, their value can vary drastically which means that using them as collateral may not always be the best idea. Another risk is that, even though the bank would have had it valued beforehand and ensured that there is a market for it, there is nothing that guarantees that the bag would not be damaged is some way or even stolen.

This could be a problem if it would happen that the bank would need to reclaim it and the person with the loan would have no way of paying it back and would be stuck with a big problem that would be hard for an individual to solve.

To conclude, banks are always analysing facts and making sure it is a relatively low risk to granting people loans. This would ensure that the bank is aware of risks and possible outcomes of having handbags used as collateral and if a person is granted a loan, the bank is confident that this is a safe option.

As for the individual taking a loan, they may feel a lot more comfortable taking a loan in the first place if they are allowed to use their handbags.

All in all, as a new innovative way of having collaterals for loans this is a good idea if risks can be minimised as both parts gains from it. The bank has a customer who is comfortable with the terms of the loan, and the bank is maintaining business.

Bibliography:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2013/08/18/the-latest-loan-collateral-hermes-chanel-gucci-dior-and-vuitton-handbags/#63ac4031348f

http://www.spentmydollars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/bags-2Bmust-2Bhave-2Btop-2Bdesigner-2Bhandbags-2Bfashion-2Btrends-2B2015-2B2016-2Bwomens-2Bbags-2Bgivenchy-2Bsaint-2Blaurent-2Bfendi-2Bchanel-2Bmichael-2Bkors-2Bdior-2Bbalenciaga-2Bit-2Bmust-2Bhave-2Bbags-2B.png 

All Publicity is Good Publicity

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2016/02/07/super-bowl-50-twitter-reacts-to-coldplay-beyonce-and-bruno-mars/#7197b3d55c65

This article from Forbes discusses how the Super Bowl has helped artists, Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, increase their sales by being the main topic in social media such as twitter.

After performing during half time at the Super Bowl bands and artists tend to have a drastic increase in sales of their albums.

As the Super Bowl 50 was watched by 167 million viewers[1] it is a great way for the artists to promote themselves and extend their products life cycles as the sales of their records were increased after performing at the game.

The artists were the topic that was all over Twitter which is a great marketing and promotion benefit for Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars as their names were spread by word-of-mouth and it did not cost them anything. As they are not the ones promoting themselves and they are only the topic of conversation they do not lose any money to investing in advertisements etc. whilst still benefitting from it.

The Super Bowl is part of American culture and has high viewing figures every year. The atmosphere the people have when watching the game is hyped and excited, which leads to the potential customers of artists’ music more inclined to purchase the products in this state of mind.

During this event it is also very convenient to do market research, as well as real time marketing, as most of the people watching are discussing the topic on social media such as Facebook and Twitter for example. Companies (or artists etc.) can then easily access people’s opinions and use this to their advantage and use it in their market research on how to promote their products or where and how to advertise to increase sales.

Whether the opinions expressed are positive or negative the artists are in the spotlight and this often leads to people who are unfamiliar with the artists and their music to listen to it and read about them. This is what then leads to new customers, and for those who are already loyal customers to perhaps purchase more things connected to the bands or artists.

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[1] http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/08/media/super-bowl-50-ratings/

Perceptual Map - Shoes

There is a lot of various shoe brands out there, which is a great thing for those of us who love shoes! One thing that is not so great, is that there isn't really a brand that sells high quality shoes at a good price...

That is where I can see a potential gap in the market. If I was to start producing shoes I would attempt to make shoes of high quality that are both nice looking, but most importantly of high quality at an affordable price.