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The shop local movement seeks to encourage consumers to support independently owned businesses that operate in their own neighborhoods or cities, citing the benefits for not just the store owners but also consumers and society as a whole. Small businesses enable entrepreneurs to earn a living and perhaps even employ others; they grant consumers access to unique and artisan products; and they allow consumer spending to get reverted back into local coffers. But today’s world also operates on a global scale, which means that even local sellers might appeal to buyers located nearly anywhere. Finding the balance between local and global represents a critical challenge. It also constitutes an incredible opportunity, when done right.

Consider how Pierre Laborde—both the designer and the eponymous company he founded—has managed it. Born in Haiti, Francis Pierre Laborde moved to New York in his teens, where he attended the acclaimed Fashion Institute of Technology. During his education, he began experimenting with ways to integrate his Haitian cultural background with the penchant in high fashion circles to craft products made of rare, fragile materials, such as python and delicate leathers.

These inspirations led to novel designs for bespoke handbags, which Laborde started out selling to friends and family. As this immediate, personal network expanded, he cultivated a small following that he served from his apartment, which served as not just his residence but also as an atelier and sales floor. The space quickly became too small, so Laborde experimented with a new marketing and location strategy, in which he attended parties for people potentially interested in buying his wares. Having gained some security through this route, Laborde then opened a small shop in Manhattan’s Grand Bazaar.

But even with these steps and advances, Pierre Laborde remained a local, small business, and sales remained relatively limited and inconsistent. Then came the TikTok video.

A visitor to the Grand Bazaar posted an account of their rare find: handbags in a vast array of bright colors and eclectic patterns, decked out with high-end leathers and hardware, better suited to a luxury design house than a flea market. In addition to zooming in on the details and hand stitching, the video emphasized the relative affordability of Pierre Laborde designs. Since the moment the video went viral, the Grand Bazaar has been mobbed by shoppers, both faithful fans and new adopters, clamoring to get one of the distinctive designs while they can.

This seemingly overnight success may have been based somewhat on a fortunate encounter with a customer, but ultimately, it was neither quick nor lucky. Laborde’s creative process involves a detailed, three-pronged approach to the design of each bag, based in color, function, and expression. By insisting on maintaining these three principles when considering the design of each piece, he ensures that every handbag bearing his name maintains the aesthetic qualities for which he is known. Furthermore, the company has established a precise production process, to ensure that every feature is presented beautifully, but also that each bag is well-suited for daily use for years to come.

In light of its remarkable success, Pierre Laborde has instated an online ticketing system for the Grand Bazaar, seeking to control the crowds of eager buyers. Still, the company often sells out of products in mere minutes. It maintains a waitlist for interested customers, but because each handbag is handmade, by Laborde and his team, who insist on the highest standards of quality, there is an inherent limit on how many orders the company can fulfill each week. For now, most interested customers can only embrace Laborde’s suggestion that they follow along on social media or subscribe to updates from his website, as the company works to expand production.

Even as its popularity spreads everywhere around the world then, Pierre Laborde remains a local seller. Even as it benefits from digital marketing channels that make the products known to anyone, it continues to serve local customers at the weekly Grand Bazaar. In straddling these strategies, Pierre Laborde finds the best of all worlds.

Discussion Questions

1. What challenges face Pierre Laborde at this point, as it attempts to capture its popularity and demand for its handcrafted products and scale up its small operation?
2. How should the company alter its retail market strategy at this point? For example, should it move to a larger store location? Shift more of its resources to digital channels? Consider outsourcing production? Justify your recommendations.

Sources: Sandra E. Garcia, “The Harlem Handbag Maker Who Creates a Frenzy with Every Drop,” The New York Times, December 21, 2025; Jeroslyn JoVonn, “Meet the Haitian Designer Behind These Viral Hard-to-Find Handbags,” Black Enterprise, November 24, 2025; https://pierrelaborde.com.