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[Steeltrap]

I think Hermes will take a PR hit, but not to the same extent as if it would have been Louis Vuitton or Gucci. Hermes isn't really a mainstream brand -- it doesn't sell handbags at a price point where Oprah's target market, Susie Suburbanite, can just roll into the boutique and buy them, unlike Gucci and LV.

Luxury store apologizes to Oprah
Hermes' Paris store had rebuffed talk show host

Wednesday, June 22, 2005; Posted: 12:49 p.m. EDT (16:49 GMT)
(CNN) -- Luxury store Hermes on Wednesday apologized to Oprah Winfrey for turning her away last week, saying that the store was closed to set up for a public relations event when the talk show host stopped by its Paris store.

"Hermes regrets not having been able to accommodate Ms. Winfrey and her team and to provide her with the service and care that Hermes strives to provide to each and every one of its customers worldwide," the store said in a statement.

"Hermes apologizes for any offense taken due to such circumstances."

The store said the incident occurred on June 14 around 6:45 p.m., about 15 minutes after the store closed. It said Winfrey and her team arrived at a time when "a private PR event was being set up inside."

Winfrey had no immediate comment.

The New York Daily News, which first reported the story, cited sources close to Winfrey that the talk show host was first rebuffed by a clerk and then a store manager. The Daily News said Winfrey had gone to the store to buy a watch for singer Tina Turner, her dinner partner that night.