Chanel's Classic Handbags To See a Price Increase
However, it is not the reason for wanting to align itself with its rival, Hermès.
Back in November 2021, Chanel raised the prices of its 2.55 and the Timeless Classic models. Now, the French fashion house has once again increased its prices on its classic offerings.
According to WWD, the brand has changed the cost of its four core handbags and spring ready-to-wear collection by 6% in Europe, 5% in the U.K., 8% in Japan, 5% in South Korea and 2% in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the U.S. and China’s prices have not been affected by the adjustment.
Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS, clarified the label’s price harmonization policy — introduced in 2015 — to WWD. “Our objective is to offer the same price everywhere to limit the parallel market. It’s an important signal to our customers, because it’s a way of engaging with them in an honest way,” Pavlovsky said. “Nowadays, there is no reason to penalize a Chinese customer versus an American customer. It’s normal that they should pay the same price for the same product.”
Since the start of the pandemic, the brand has had to make changes in its prices due to its production costs and raw material prices, as well as exchange rate fluctuations. With that being said, Pavlovsky also denied the comments about Chanel aiming for Hermès status.
“Hermès bags are great, but I think our bags are very different… So yes, we do compete with Hermès, but we are not in competition on a specific handbag,” he explained. “It’s not just a price increase for the sake of a price increase, or because of a race against our competitors. It’s because we have a valuable product and this valuable product requires real commitments and real investments to guarantee its existence for the next 20 years,” Pavlovsky added.
