Just like the Chanel Classic Flap Handbag

Fashion house Chanel is seeing soaring demand for its products as the luxury retail market continues to surge pre-lockdown around the globe.

Chanel’s chief financial officer, Philippe Blondiaux recently mentioned in an exclusive interview that the company will be limiting the number of items each retail client can buy. This news came after a trendy fashion website reported that shoppers who wanted to buy two pieces of the Classic Flap handbag which retails around USD10,000 each were politely prevented from making the purchase of the second piece.

Philippe Blondiaux added that with this limit purchase imposed at all its stores globally, it was better at protecting their customers and preventing bulk buying by certain individuals.

Analysts say Chanel wants to make its brand even more exclusive, and is also seeking to counter a boom in the resale market for luxury goods.

“It can be implemented on certain product ranges which is not only the flap bag and it could impact some items which are in hot demand and fortunately, or unfortunately, there are quite a lot at Chanel, so this is the kind of measure which we could implement in different countries at times,” Blondiaux added.

The company has already been limiting purchases of the famed handbag in South Korea, where long queues can form before dawn outside Seoul department stores as shoppers brace for what’s known as an “open run” – a sprint to Chanel’s doors at opening time.

Some resellers have told Reuters they were hiring “line standers” for up to USD125 a day to queue or enter stores on their behalf. read more

The possible wider use of purchase limits comes amid an industry drive for exclusivity, with Chanel repeatedly hiking prices for its handbags during the pandemic. The group says its aim is also to reduce the price gap between different regions.

After the latest increase in March, the fourth since the start of 2021, some of Chanel’s signature handbags, including the Classic Flap in some cases now cost up to twice what they did in 2019.

Angry Russian influencers have been seen on social media cutting up Chanel handbags in protest. Luxury department store Harrods recently took a similar step, after Britain prohibited the export of luxury goods to Russia with a price tag of over 300 pounds.

Chanel has temporarily closed its 17 boutiques in Russia, but continues to pay employees there and hopes to resume business in the long term, said Blondiaux.

The group says it is confident of another year of solid growth in 2022, despite a decline in sales in China because of a new round of lockdowns since March. Chanel reported revenues of USD15.6 billion for 2021, up 49.6 percent from the previous year.