Tommy Hilfiger is a fashion brand that sells everything from clothes to watches to even home décor.
Hilfiger grew as a brand that encompassed what it meant to be American cool.
With prices starting at $30 and only increasing from there, it was a brand that, typically, only those with money in their pockets could afford.
Considering that some of their clothes sell for around $100, you may wonder what makes the brand so expensive.
Here are 10 reasons Tommy Hilfiger is expensive.
Why Is Tommy Hilfiger So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
1. Brand Name
There’s no question that the brand name plays an integral role in its high prices.
Tommy Hilfiger launched the brand and named it after himself in 1985.
He wanted to make clothes that paid homage to Americana heritage.
At the same time, he took inspiration from pop culture and celebrities.
From that inspiration came a design called preppy with a twist.
The Hilfiger brand designs clothes for those who want to look respectable, affluent, or of a certain class or social standing while still maintaining their individuality.
Perhaps most commonly, the brand became associated with those who had slightly wealthy parents or very wealthy parents.
Eventually, it was commonly thought that if you wore Hilfiger, you probably had some money in your pocket.
This has made Hilfiger clothing expensive because it feeds the idea that only those who are wealthy can afford it.
Even if someone isn’t wealthy but wears a Hilfiger shirt, they’re able to pass themselves off as wealthy.
Since a lot of people want to feel like that or have people perceive them like that, they want to buy more Hilfiger products.
That creates even more demand for the clothing line which increases its price.
The Hilfiger brand promotes certain ideas about a person who wears the brand, which
increases demand for its products and drives up the price.
2. Celebrity-Approved
Because Hilfiger takes a lot of inspiration from pop culture, it’s not uncommon for him to collaborate with celebrities.
Whether it’s through marketing a specific clothing piece or even an entire line, Hilfiger has worked with several celebrities in the past.
The association with Hilfiger and celebrities makes the clothing items and other products more expensive for a few reasons.
The first is the belief that everything celebrities wear must be a luxury product.
If a celebrity has chosen to wear something, it’s because it’s the best of the best.
When customers correlate celebrities with Hilfiger’s clothes, they think that the clothes must also be luxurious.
That leads to luxurious prices, which are quite expensive.
The second reason that celebrities make Hilfiger’s clothing more expensive is that fans want to look like them.
When fans emulate their favorite celebrities, they feel closer to them.
They enjoy looking like them because it makes them feel good.
It’s also seen as a way of supporting their favorite celebrity.
If a celebrity wears a certain shirt with the Hilfiger logo on it, their fans are probably going to buy the same shirt, too.
The brand knows this, which is why that particular shirt might have a higher price tag on it.
Since it’s going to be in more demand, it’s going to have a higher price.
Finally, celebrities make Hilfiger more expensive because marketing costs are expensive when they feature a celebrity.
If the Hilfiger brand decides to run a marketing campaign featuring a celebrity, they’re going to need to pay a lot of money to that celebrity.
This means that they need to make up for those expenses through sales.
The particular clothing items that the celebrity is advertising is going to have an expensive price tag on them since the brand knows those are the clothes people are likely going to buy.
This makes Hilfiger expensive.
3. High-Quality Cotton
One of the main reasons a lot of people love the Hilfiger brand is cotton.
Their cotton shirts, shorts, and other clothing items are made of premium cotton.
It’s incredibly soft and lasts for a long time.
However, the problem with high-quality cotton is that it’s expensive.
Cotton itself is already expensive due to several factors.
Its price has reached its highest point since 2011.
One of the main reasons cotton prices are expensive is drought.
The world’s top exporter of cotton is the United States.
Most of the cotton grown in the United States is in Texas.
The state has been experiencing a terrible drought over the past few years.
This has made growing cotton, as well as other crops, extremely expensive.
Farmers have to import water to keep their cotton crops alive.
Since most of the state is experiencing a drought, they have to bring in water over long distances.
It’s expensive to buy water, but it’s also expensive to transport water.
The further the farm is from the source of the water, the more expensive the bill will be.
There’s also a shortage of cotton.
Many farmers switched from growing cotton to growing soybeans and other cash crops.
These crops were originally selling for higher prices than cotton.
This means fewer farmers are growing and selling cotton.
Demand for cotton has only increased, too.
China, in particular, has been a major importer of American cotton.
With global demand increasing and domestic demand remaining high, there’s a lot of demand for low supply.
That’s made the price skyrocket.
Hilfiger, which uses even rarer high-quality cotton, has to pay a lot of money to get cotton to make their products.
As a result, they have to sell at higher prices to cover those costs.
4. Wool Costs
Besides cotton, another major material that Tommy Hilfiger uses in its clothes is wool.
There are several sources of wool, with sheep being the most common.
While you might find certain clothing items from Hilfiger that contain extremely expensive wool, in most cases, the brand uses premium sheep’s wool.
Despite sheep’s wool being a little cheaper than other types of wool, it’s still an expensive material to use.
Wool is expensive because of the costs ranchers take on to care for their sheep.
Sheep require food, water, and a sanitary place to rest.
To give premium wool, they need an especially healthy diet.
This enables the sheep to grow fine wool that’s soft to the touch.
Since sheep eat grains and other vegetables, it requires ranchers to buy large loads of produce.
This can become expensive, especially if they rely on high-quality produce to give the best possible food to their sheep.
If produce costs are high, the rancher has to pay more for that food.
That means they’ll have to sell their wool at higher prices, too.
Water is another problem.
If the rancher lives in an area that’s experiencing a drought, there isn’t much grass for the sheep to eat.
They’ll have to import more grains and other food to keep their sheep fed.
They’ll also need to import water to keep their sheep hydrated.
Finally, they need to invest in plenty of vet visits to ensure their sheep stay healthy.
Since raising sheep can be quite expensive, they pass those expenses onto their buyers.
Tommy Hilfiger then pays a lot for their premium wool.
To cover those costs, they sell products containing wool at higher prices.
Tommy Hilfiger is expensive because of the cost of wool.
5. Sustainable Sourcing
The fashion industry is often under fire for its unsustainable practices.
There’s a lot of waste in the fashion industry.
Whether it’s people tossing old clothes into the trash or the factories, themselves, using a lot of energy to make their clothes, there’s clearly a carbon footprint there that needs to be erased.
Tommy Hilfiger is one of the major brands to have started to use sustainable practices.
Part of their sustainable policy is practicing sustainable sourcing.
This means that they have a focus on using organic materials.
They partner with farmers and ranchers who only sell organic products.
These producers don’t use pesticides or other chemicals that harm the planet.
The brand also has a focus on recycling.
They aim to recycle their clothing as well as encourage their customers to recycle their clothing back to the company.
This enables them to reuse materials rather than having to source brand new materials and use more energy to do so.
Practicing sustainability isn’t cheap.
It often means that the company has to spend more money on better materials or tools to make themselves energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Since Hilfiger is taking on more costs, they have to sell at higher prices.
This isn’t just a temporary change either.
Hilfiger has committed to continuing to make sustainable changes until 2030.
By that point, they hope to be recycling as much as possible and supporting an environmentally-friendly business model.
Tommy Hilfiger is expensive because they take on more costs to be a sustainable business.
6. Durable Clothing
One of the reasons many people buy Tommy Hilfiger clothes is that they’re durable.
These aren’t clothes meant for playing outside or being too active.
They’re meant for social gatherings or the office.
When worn in those situations, the clothes last for a long time.
Not only does this support the brand’s approach to sustainability, but it also means that its customers end up saving more money over the long term.
When clothes last longer, people don’t have to buy as many of them.
With less demand for clothes, factories don’t have to produce as much, which saves on materials and energy.
It also means that customers don’t have to spend more money to get new clothes because their previous ones wore out.
However, this also means that Hilfiger doesn’t earn as much money.
Low-quality brands rely on repeat purchases.
Their clothes don’t last long, so they rely on their customers to buy more and more over the years.
That’s how they generate a profit.
Since Hilfiger clothes last longer, they have to rely on higher prices instead.
The higher prices enable the company to stretch that amount out a bit until the customer eventually returns to buy more clothes.
They can’t depend on repeat purchases due to worn clothing.
However, it’s also because of the clothing’s durability that there’s a lot of demand for it.
Customers enjoy clothing that lasts a long time.
While it saves them money, it also saves them from embarrassment.
They don’t have to worry about showing up at work, at school, or even on a date with holes in their shirt or pants.
That means there’s more demand for the clothing.
With high demand comes high prices.
7. Charity
Considering how successful the brand is, Tommy Hilfiger contributes a good amount of its revenue to charity.
Some of the charities that the brand contributes to regularly include…
- Elephant Family
- Elton John’s AIDS Foundation
- Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- Naked Heart Foundation
- Oceana
- Race to Erase MS
- UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
Since the company gives a good portion of its revenue to these charities, it makes the brand more attractive to its customers.
When successful brands give back to communities, it not only helps supports those communities, but it sells the idea that large corporations care about people.
That’s a good reputation for any business to have.
Hilfiger is a part of several different types of charities.
It’s also a reason they have higher prices.
Hilfiger has expensive prices because customers appreciate that the company gives back to communities.
People want to support a company like that.
As a result, they’re more willing to spend extra money on the company’s products.
Since the company uses its revenue to give to charity, customers can feel as though they’re contributing to those charities, too.
Companies that donate money to charities usually give large amounts, but they still need a good amount of revenue to take care of their business.
Charging expensive prices enables them to give back to charity while also ensuring they have enough money to invest in themselves.
8. Inclusive Clothing
A unique line of clothes that Hilfiger produces is for those who suffer from physical ailments or other disabilities.
As part of their Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive line, the company produces clothes that are easy to get on and off for those with disabilities.
Some clothes feature a zipper that you can undo with one hand.
Other clothes have magnetic buttons instead of ones you have to pull through holes.
Some of their clothes even have open seams that allow for the easy fitting of a prosthetic.
Tommy Hilfiger wants to give those with disabilities the same chance of looking great.
Few clothing lines make clothes for those with disabilities in mind.
They expect them to adapt instead.
Hilfiger wanted to give this group of people a chance to wear durable clothes with a lavish brand name attached to them.
This makes their clothes expensive because it takes extra time to make the clothes.
Those are a limited line of clothes since not as many people need them.
Since they’re not produced as much, they tend to cost a bit more.
In addition, the time it takes to make special zippers or seams also makes it more expensive.
These clothing types require additional costs.
Since they cost more to make, they’re a bit more expensive to cover those costs.
9. Handbags
One of the most expensive items at Tommy Hilfiger is their handbags.
You can find Hilfiger handbags for around $50, but you can also find them for $150 and above.
Hilfiger uses different materials to make their handbags.
While they use synthetic leather instead of real leather, they do use other expensive materials on some of their other handbags.
The primary force driving the expense of the handbag, however, is the size.
Hilfiger makes large handbags suited for most needs.
It ensures that women have plenty of space for all the items that they need to carry in their bags.
The design is another force that impacts its price.
Some handbags feature the Hilfiger logo while others follow a certain fashion trend.
Since handbags are more accessories than anything else these days, you can almost think of them as the lady’s wristwatch.
Collectors like to get their hands on limited-edition Hilfiger bags as much as they do their watches.
They’re made to last and look great.
Since it’s an accessory and not necessarily something a person needs, the brand can also put a higher price on it.
It’s an indulgent item which means indulgent prices.
10. Watch Materials
Besides handbags and clothing, another product that Hilfiger is famous for selling is a watch.
Hilfiger watches often have large frames and the signature Hilfiger logo on them.
However, it’s the materials that make the watches expensive.
Some watches contain gun metal which is a darkened type of steel that looks stylish.
When a watch is made with a lot of this particular material, it ends up costing the manufacturer a good amount of money.
To cover the cost of the material, Hilfiger has to sell the watch at a higher price.
Some watches also have rose gold, yellow gold, and gemstones in their makeup.
Depending on the value of the material, these add to the value of the watch overall.
Finally, there are also the collectors to contend with.
Watch collectors are serious contenders who drive up prices of certain watches when they’re limited editions.
That’s because there’s a lot of demand for only a few available watches.
Those who get their hands on the watches can increase the value of their collections.
Conclusion
Tommy Hilfiger has a reputation for making high-end clothing that lasts a long time.
The premium materials that the company uses to create all of its products make everything more expensive.
NEXT: Why Is Glass So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)