The Alchemy of Temporal Capital: Constructing Brand Timelessness through Historical Narrative in the Second-hand Luxury Market-The Case of Hermès

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-874-5_114How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Temporal Capital; Second-hand Luxury Market; Brand Timelessness; Historical Narrative; Cultural Reproduction

Abstract

In recent years, the booming second-hand luxury market has reshaped the value management practices of luxury brands. However, existing research has paid limited attention to how “temporal capital” contributes to brand permanence in this context. To address this gap, this study takes Hermès as a case and explores how the circulation of pre-owned luxury goods constructs brand timelessness through the lens of temporal capital. Adopting a case study approach, the paper develops a “Temporal Capital-Historical Narrative-Cultural Reproduction” (T-H-C) model. Findings reveal that Hermès reinforces its brand value by employing scarcity strategies and narrative techniques, enabling its vintage products to accumulate symbolic meaning and consumer recognition over time. The study concludes that temporal capital plays a pivotal role in balancing scarcity and expansion in the second-hand luxury market. This research not only enriches theoretical understanding of luxury brand management in secondary markets but also provides practical insights into how brands can sustain their cultural and market value throughout the product lifecycle.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Zihan Cheng
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/03
TI  - The Alchemy of Temporal Capital: Constructing Brand Timelessness through Historical Narrative in the Second-hand Luxury Market-The Case of Hermès
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Financial Innovation and Marketing Management (FIMM 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 982
EP  - 991
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-874-5_114
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-874-5_114
ID  - Cheng2025
ER  -