Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton have something to worry about: the trendiest handbag is now the work of a supermarket chain!
A priori banal, a simple polyester tote bag unleashes passions across the Atlantic and has become the
“must-have”
of fashionistas.
Not particularly flashy, the product is made of light canvas, with a contrasting border in red, blue, yellow or green.
The small bag sells for $2.99 in Trader Joe's 571 stores.
Aldi's American cousin, with decor straight out of 1960s California, offers a variety of everyday products at a lower cost.
Its cashiers in Hawaiian shirts and its community of fans who share the recipes have made it one of America's favorite brands.
With this tote bag, sold last year in a larger format, the discount chain is making headlines, without really looking for it.
The precious accessory indeed owes its success to TikTok and eBay, as strange as it may seem.
On the Chinese social network, thousands of videos were posted with #TraderJoes and #Totebag, which explains the rise of the phenomenon.
Young people film themselves queuing at the supermarket to get the Holy Grail, rushing to the restocked shelves.
Others simply show what they manage to put in their tote bag on a daily basis.
While it's true that some ambush scenes exist, some have noticed that the bags aren't causing drama in stores near them, and that there are still plenty in stock...
@staytunednbc
#TraderJoes mini canvas tote bags are the latest #viral sensation with some crediting the price and pre-existing #totebag popularity for its newly found fame.
original sound - staytunednbc
Rising bidding
The item is nevertheless indicated as out of stock on the Trader Joe's website.
Some have also smelled a good deal.
On the Facebook Market Place and eBay platforms, individuals are selling the tote bag.
On the latter, you can get four bags of each different color for $50.
Others offer three for the price of $100.
Some, even more greedy, raise the bids to almost four figures.
One of the resellers did not hesitate to offer the four mini-bags for the (crazy) sum of 999 dollars, to no avail for the moment.
Although several Internet users told CNN that they had sold batches of bags, the actual price at which they were sold was not communicated.
The American media specifies that buyers can make offers below the advertised price.
This bidding war could above all represent a strategy to increase the resale value of the bag.
Trader Joe's disapproves
The craze surrounding the tote bag forced the Trader Joe's chain to react in a press release.
She claims to have been surprised by the sudden demand, having not anticipated sufficient stocks.
However, it condemns certain practices:
“we do not approve or support the resale of our products and we are doing everything in our power to put an end to this practice”
.
The brand has therefore decided to take restrictive measures on the sale of this
it-bag
.
In some supermarkets, customers can now buy no more than five bags per person.
In other points of sale, the limit is set at ten.
According to CBSnews, a new edition of Trader Joe's tote bags will be released next September.
The frenzy on the networks and the speculation on resale platforms should undoubtedly continue for several months…