- Hermès CEO Axel Dumas discussed the viral Walmart Birkin bag lookalikes.
- Dumas said he was “annoyed” when asked about Birkin dupes.
- Hermès’ Birkin bags are luxury status symbols, starting at $10,000.
Hermès CEO Axel Dumas responded to the viral Walmart “Birkin” bags that were a hit with TikTok’s dupe enthusiasts last year — and he was kind of mad.
The French luxury brand reported its annual results from 2024 on Friday. During the call, Dumas said he’d give a “corporate answer” to questions about the lookalikes that were sold on Walmart’s website through third parties with about $80 price tags.
At first, he said the company had no comment, but then he expanded on his feelings about fakes.
“It’s difficult to know what, exactly, to think about it apart from the fact that it irritated me — annoyed me,” he said.
The “Wirkins” aren’t technically a counterfeit since the sellers aren’t marketing them as the real thing, but Dumas said that Hermès takes counterfeiting “very seriously.”
It's unclear when vendors began selling the cheaper bags on Walmart's e-commerce site, but a string of viral videos in December pushed them into the spotlight — causing many to flock to purchase one. TikTokers dubbed them "Wirkins" or "Walmès bags."
"Making a copy like this is quite detestable —it's stealing the creative ideas of others," Dumas said.
However, Dumas said he ended up seeing Wirkins as a compliment in a way. Hermès Birkin bags are highly coveted status symbols among the wealthy, with five-figure price tags and long waitlists. The handmade leather bags start at around $10,000.
He said he understood that no one is buying the $80 Wirkin and expecting it to be the real thing, and it was "quite touching" to see people who dreamed of owning a Birkin.
The bags started disappearing from Walmart's marketplace in January following the frenzy they started online. The company previously declined to comment on why they were being taken off of shelves.