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The everyday, explainedBy Huw Allen

Le Creuset. Addictive durability.

Le Creuset pots are built to last forever, and people keep buying more of them. Durability became the reason we buy more.

THE GIST ON LE CREUSET: "Addictive Durability"

Thumbnail for The Gist on Le Creuset, titled "Addictive Durability".

Watch "Addictive Durability": The Gist on Le Creuset.

How do you sell pots that never break?

Le Creuset proves you don't need built-in obsolescence. You just need to make people want more than one. The pots cost up to 400 quid, carry a lifetime warranty and are designed to outlive you, so one should be enough. Yet people buy another because it's fig instead of flame. Heirlooms have become a consumable.

What is the alternative to a race to the bottom?

Most manufacturing is make it cheap, make it break, make people buy it again. Your grandmother's fridge is older than you and still working. Le Creuset stays expensive and high quality, but competes on aesthetics rather than obsolescence. The pot never breaks, but the colour goes out of style, and suddenly you need coastal blue to match your kitchen redesign.

Is everyone copying it?

It keeps premium manufacturing alive by rewriting what buy it for life means. Now every heritage brand is copying the playbook: Stanley cups, Patagonia vests. Make it last forever, but make people want multiples. We thought buying quality would break the consumption carousel. It just made us enjoy it more.

Do you own more than you need because it looks good?

Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.

Quick answers

Do Le Creuset pots wear out?

No, they are built to last and carry a lifetime warranty.

Why do people buy more than one?

Because the colours go in and out of style, so aesthetics drive repeat purchases.

Which other brands use this playbook?

Stanley cups and Patagonia vests, according to the reel.

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