Luxury Briefing: ‘Desire outweighs price’ as more shoppers tap luxury sourcers

“I really wanted these sandals, and I couldn’t find them anywhere,” Diaz said on a December 19 episode of the “Lipstick on the Rim” podcast. ”My girlfriend was like, ‘I have somebody who can find them for you.’ … I had no idea about the brokerage fees [involved] or that this was a business. But then I was like, ‘OK, I’m in.’”

Co-host of the show Emese Gormley guessed that the sourcer was L.A.-based Gab Waller, based on Waller’s growing reputation for knowing “every shop person around the world.” There’s a good chance she was right. 

A former fashion stylist, Waller started her namesake fashion-sourcing business in 2018, after visiting L.A. from Australia and realizing the comparatively high accessibility to luxury goods in the states. Today, Gab Waller counts 15 employees, including Waller, and 6,000 global clients. Its average order value is $2,000, though it has sourced higher-priced items including a $25,000 Schiaparelli couture coat and a $40,000 vintage Louis Vuitton jewelry case. Waller charges a flat sourcing fee of $220 per item. 

For the company’s clients, “desire outweighs price,” Waller said. She noted that inflation and brands’ recent price hikes have had no impact on her business, which has consistently experienced “massive growth” year-over-year. 

Gab Waller is among a growing pool of luxury sourcing businesses and retail services that have emerged since the dawn of Instagram. Trading in convenience, speed and next-level customer service, the largely-social-media-based businesses are often fallback plans when a Google search falls short. Their offerings and processes reflect the state of the luxury market, including the vast impact of influencers and the evolving state of exclusivity. And their mere existence speaks to both the ongoing demand for luxury and the primary industry’s failure to meet customers where they are. 

There’s EliteUSA, launched in 2012, which has nearly 100 global employees and exclusively sources new styles. And luxury retailers have begun offering sourcing services as a perk: In late 2022, Farfetch rolled out Farfetch Concierge to all of its Private Client customers who spend at least $12,000 per year. 

As Gen Z, with less spending power, has increasingly embraced the luxury category, sourcing businesses have expanded their focus to include pre-owned styles or have launched with a dedicated resale focus. For example, 20% of Waller’s business is now driven by seasons-old styles. And in 2020, with an Instagram post featuring a Louis Vuitton Vernis Pochette, Australia-based law student Alana Kuz launched vintage handbags-focused Le Limité. 

According to Kuz, “everything changed” for Le Limité in 2021 when she gifted Sweden-based influencer Matilda Djerf (3.1 million Instagram followers) a Louis Vuitton Croissant bag. After Djerf posted a tagged look featuring the bag, Le Limité received 100 orders for the style. 

Le Limité, which is exclusively operated by Kuz, typically locates requested bags within 24 hours, leveraging global vintage curators and suppliers. It charges a sourcing fee of $160 AUD, or around $107 USD, and largely sells to Gen-Z shoppers. While Kuz declined to share revenue figures, she said the company’s earnings “reflect a growing demand for rare vintage pieces.” She plans to soon make her first hire to support the management of the company’s primary customer communications channel: Instagram DMs. 

Similarly, 90% of Gab Waller’s business takes place via DMs on Instagram, where the company has 137,000 followers — the remainder is done through emails. Waller, who requires clients to send a screenshot of the item they’re looking for, said she’s increasingly seeing pictures from TikTok. In January 2022, the company launched a TikTok account for brand awareness, and it’s since made two content-focused hires who focus on the platform.

Waller said her global sourcing team made up of 10 people, including a recent hire based in South Korea, typically takes 24-48 hours to locate a piece. She most often sources directly from a brand, but also relies heavily on “five key sources.” Clients are often seeking “the one that got away,” or recently sold-out styles, she said. And those can usually be found in the warehouse of a multi-brand boutique that can’t return it to the brand. The U.S. is Gab Waller’s largest and fastest-growing market, followed by Australia, the Middle East, New Zealand, Europe and the U.K. 

Twelve-year-old EliteUSA — which was also birthed on Instagram, but now directs customers to WhatsApp — calls its brand relationships its key differentiator. With the exception of “a couple” brands, it sources directly from brands, said Deanna Elzein, EliteUSA’s head of sales. Through content, it also offers customers access to the luxury fashion shows and showroom appointments its team attends.

“Nobody’s ever gonna have a partnership with Hermès,” said Elzein. “There are a few houses that just do not and will never get on board with this type of business solution.” On that note, Waller said Hermès’s Birkin and Kelly bags are the only styles she doesn’t source, due to the new styles’ limited availability and the used styles’ extreme markups.

In addition, EliteUSA has long prided itself on being proactive; rather than simply wait for customer requests, it often recommends styles that it’s deemed “the next big thing.” However, its ability to effectively do so has recently been diminished. 

“We’re now at the mercy of influencers,” Elzein said. “We have no clue what they’re going to take to and what the brands are going to give to them to promote.”

Over the last five years, the company has been along for the ride as luxury brands have shifted their strategies. As demand for luxury products has soared, brands have taken one of two routes: They’ve begun mass producing or they’ve halted production to retain integrity via exclusivity, Elzein said. As such, EliteUSA is now competing with the mass public, as well as dealing with waitlists that had not been a barrier before. Among its current focuses is offering customers the best possible price. Elzein, who is in the middle of a move from the U.S. to Paris, noted the strength of the Euro. 

Founded and owned by Elle Abdul, EliteUSA has a turnaround time for orders of around one week. Its fees — which factor in shipping rate, commission rate and a personal shopping fee — vary. 

While most EliteUSA shoppers are millennials — and largely women in Europe, the Middle East, the U.S. and Asia — the company has seen a rise in Gen-Z shoppers over the last two years. EliteUSA advertises on Instagram and Snapchat, and invests in influencer partnerships.

All the sourcers who commented on this story noted their focus on offering highly personalized service, based on the importance of word-of-mouth marketing and positive customer reviews. And they all hinted that they’re closely following industry shifts, with a focus on threats and opportunities. 

For her part, Elzein expects the popularity of brands including Prada, Miu Miu, Dior and Alaia will continue to rise, as brands like Chanel alienate shoppers with their five-figure prices. And, she said, serving customers in more channels will be imperative. EliteUSA will soon be launching a shoppable website featuring luxury items selling on consignment. A livestream shopping concept is also being considered. 

Meanwhile, Waller sees much potential in AI as a sourcing tool, she said, noting the usefulness of visual search tools on crowded multi-brand e-commerce sites.

For those specializing in resale, the threat of brands reintroducing archival styles is worth considering, but Kuz said she’s not worried. For example, she said, early this month, Louis Vuitton launched the LV Remix Collection, including a reissue of its 2002 Croissant style, a Le Limité hot seller. “It’s only increased the demand for the vintage [versions] because they’re more affordable, especially for the Gen-Z market,” she said.  

Finally, they all said, the increasing number of sourcers is also on their radars.