Do You Fear for the Future of Chanel?

[KaKe]

I didnt read that whole thing sorry. This makes sense. Now LV and Chanel buying as one means that they will have bigger orders and push the competiton to the back of the line.

klaus schwab lost…

lol how did he lose?? a globalized world governed by stakeholders is what he wants.

 

[Nimsay]

This isnt globalization tho. its just strategy in a post covid supply chain - teaming up ensures LV and Chanel never want for raw materials. If anything this is due to covid and too much globalization.

 

[Drusilla_]

coming back to the thread title....not really. Ownership-wise it's still privately held and isn't likely to be rocking too many boats or Succession-style battles, the brand seems to favour long tenures for designers (ok Karl was a sample of one but Virginie is getting on for five years at the helm now) so not likely to have major ructions on the creative front (creatively maybe less than ideal, I admit) but overall it's very stable, or looks like it is anyway.
The real question is what happens if a downturn comes like one's expected in 2024. I suppose Chanel can just dig in its heels and wait it out, having the advantage of being huge and established and also not having any shareholders to answer to.

 

[PDFSD]

Chanel CEO Leena Nair on her Leadership Style at the Luxury Fashion Brand​

The CEO of French fashion house Chanel, Leena Nair, is a human resources veteran who had never run a company, spending decades at Unilever, before switching from the world of fast-moving consumer goods to haute couture and beauty. Francine Lacqua speaks to Leena Nair about her professional and personal journey, how it defines her leadership style, and her unique approach at the top of luxury.

00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Leena Nair on luxury sector and challenges: geopolitics, inflation, AI
04:10 - Leena Nair on Chanel's clients, Gen Z and Alpha customers, Coco Chanel's legacy
07:00 - Leena Nair on growing up in India, looking different, top advice to women
11:00 - Leena Nair on price increases, China, US market
13:22 - Leena Nair on leadership, diversity, empowering women
17:23 - Leena Nair on sustainability, carbon emissions and risk-taking
19:47 - Leena Nair on transition from Unilever and HR to luxury CEO
22:37 - Leena Nair on best and worst advice

Chanel CEO Says Price Hikes Driven by Inflation, Craftsmanship​

• Leena Nair sits down in Leaders With Lacqua interview
• Luxury brand seeks to avoid price gaps between countries

Leena Nair in London, on April 15.Photographer: Jason Alden/
Bloomberg
By Angelina Rascouet
April 25, 2024 at 2:40 PM GMT+2

Chanel’s chief executive officer defended the luxury brand’s pricing after it raised the cost of one of its best-known handbags to more than €10,000 ($10,725).
The fashion label, known for its haute couture designs and fragrances, takes account of inflation and its high standards for materials and craftsmanship in setting prices, CEO Leena Nair told Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua in a Leaders With Lacqua interview.
“We use exquisite raw materials and our production is very rigorous, laborious, handmade — so we raise our prices according to the inflation that we see,” Nair said.

On the latest episode of Leaders With Lacqua, Francine Lacqua speaks to Chanel CEO Leena Nair about her professional and personal journey, how it defines her leadership style, and her unique approach at the top of luxury.
Luxury brands like Chanel have made headlines in recent years for pushing up the prices of their often coveted goods. A classic medium-sized Chanel flap bag, for instance, rose above the €10,000 threshold for the first time in Paris last month.

Chanel tends to cater to the most affluent customers, on a par with those of Hermes International SCA or watchmaker Rolex, whose spending power typically remains resilient in the face of slowing economic growth or geopolitical turmoil.
Read more: Chanel Flap Bag Now Costs More Than €10,000 in Paris
Nair said the brand, founded more than a century ago by Coco Chanel, pursues “sensible and modest growth” as it focuses on preserving the quality of its products over the long term — an approach that’s made easier by its status as a privately-held company.
Nair, the former head of human resources at Unilever Plc, became Chanel CEO in January 2022.
She reiterated that the company has no plans to hold an initial public offering. Chanel is owned by the billionaire brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, whose fortunes are estimated at $50 billion each, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Founded in Paris but headquartered in London since 2018, Chanel reports its financial performance once a year, generally around late May. Revenue rose 17% to $17.2 billion in 2022.


The luxury goods maker behind the Chanel No. 5 fragrance seeks pricing harmonization across the globe, and sometimes adjusts prices in different markets to ensure that, Nair said.
“Our clients shouldn’t experience excess price differentials. No matter where they buy, we want to stay fair to all our clients everywhere,” she said.

— With assistance from Francine Lacqua

 

[PDFSD]

​

Chanel execs invest in rental property near expanding factory​

Just as the luxury fashion house began to add more staff at its expanding factory in western France, Chanel's Paris-based bosses started to snap up rental properties in the same area, pushing up prices.​

Published on 20.06.2024 at 05:00 GMT Reading time 2 minutes
By 2026, the

Glitz.paris, the first investigative publication dedicated to the global luxury sector

Glitz.paris is an exclusive publication published since 2022 by the independent news organisation Indigo Publications.

www.glitz.paris

CHANEL owned leather goods factory based in Aulnay-de-Saintonge - a small village in western France's Charente-Maritime department with a population of 1,400 - is set to produce four times as many bags as it does now. That is a major investment for the luxury fashion house, which is working on securing its production resources in France.

The development has also been, perhaps unexpectedly, a major business opportunity for the company's executives. Glitz.paris has learned that despite being based in Paris, several Chanel bosses have bought rental property in the Aulnay-de-Saintonge area, anticipating a significant increase in the demand for housing.

Exploding property prices​

While the factory currently employs around 100 people, the company plans to recruit a further 1,000 employees for the site in the medium term.
Philippe Ernst, a former Loewe (LVMH) and Hermès employee who specialises in the strategic expansion of industrial sites, is in charge of the project. Chanel bought the Ateliers de May in the summer of 2020, when its value was at an all-time low due to the Covid-19 pandemic and when Chanel had become the plant's only customer.

From the autumn after Chanel took over the factory, property prices in Aulnay-de-Saintonge began to rise - even before the news had leaked to the local press in late 2021 and been made public. In June 2020, the average property price per square metre in the village was €942, yet by that October it had risen to €1,121, having never before broken the symbolic barrier of €1,000 per square metre. Four years on, it is now almost €1,500 per square metre (nearly a 60% rise).

Strong local backing​

The area's authorities are reluctant to comment on the subject. However, they are already doing everything they can to support the growth of the local employer. In September 2022, the Charente-Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry's training organisation,

Actoria, launched a leather goods vocational training course to meet Chanel's needs, at a time when the industry has been struggling to recruit (Glitz, 09/03/23). The chamber of commerce provides 50% of the funding for the course, which is based at the Aulnay-de-Saintonge secondary school.
While Chanel has been buying up more and more workshops in recent years, in particular through its subsidiary
Paraffection, the company remains tight-lipped about its strategy, just like its rival Hermès, which has made the Paris suburb of Pantin its manufacturing home

 

[yslforever]

​

Chanel execs invest in rental property near expanding factory​

Just as the luxury fashion house began to add more staff at its expanding factory in western France, Chanel's Paris-based bosses started to snap up rental properties in the same area, pushing up prices.​

Published on 20.06.2024 at 05:00 GMT Reading time 2 minutes
By 2026, the

Glitz.paris, the first investigative publication dedicated to the global luxury sector

Glitz.paris is an exclusive publication published since 2022 by the independent news organisation Indigo Publications.

www.glitz.paris

CHANEL owned leather goods factory based in Aulnay-de-Saintonge - a small village in western France's Charente-Maritime department with a population of 1,400 - is set to produce four times as many bags as it does now. That is a major investment for the luxury fashion house, which is working on securing its production resources in France.

The development has also been, perhaps unexpectedly, a major business opportunity for the company's executives. Glitz.paris has learned that despite being based in Paris, several Chanel bosses have bought rental property in the Aulnay-de-Saintonge area, anticipating a significant increase in the demand for housing.

Exploding property prices​

While the factory currently employs around 100 people, the company plans to recruit a further 1,000 employees for the site in the medium term.
Philippe Ernst, a former Loewe (LVMH) and Hermès employee who specialises in the strategic expansion of industrial sites, is in charge of the project. Chanel bought the Ateliers de May in the summer of 2020, when its value was at an all-time low due to the Covid-19 pandemic and when Chanel had become the plant's only customer.

From the autumn after Chanel took over the factory, property prices in Aulnay-de-Saintonge began to rise - even before the news had leaked to the local press in late 2021 and been made public. In June 2020, the average property price per square metre in the village was €942, yet by that October it had risen to €1,121, having never before broken the symbolic barrier of €1,000 per square metre. Four years on, it is now almost €1,500 per square metre (nearly a 60% rise).

Strong local backing​

The area's authorities are reluctant to comment on the subject. However, they are already doing everything they can to support the growth of the local employer. In September 2022, the Charente-Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry's training organisation,

Actoria, launched a leather goods vocational training course to meet Chanel's needs, at a time when the industry has been struggling to recruit (Glitz, 09/03/23). The chamber of commerce provides 50% of the funding for the course, which is based at the Aulnay-de-Saintonge secondary school.
While Chanel has been buying up more and more workshops in recent years, in particular through its subsidiary
Paraffection, the company remains tight-lipped about its strategy, just like its rival Hermès, which has made the Paris suburb of Pantin its manufacturing home

But they haven't bough their rue Cambon flagship, studio and ateliers yet

 

[PDFSD]

But they haven't bough their rue Cambon flagship, studio and ateliers yet

What you mean ?

i was under the impression they did :

With the acquisition and opening of the new boutique, Chanel now owns rue Cambon’s 19, 23, 25, 27 29 and 31 addresses.

Gabrielle Chanel’s first acquisition at 31 rue Cambon was a four-storeyed building that was initially built as a townhouse at the end of the 18th century. It had an opening with a porch and a façade pierced by five asymmetric windows. Gabrielle entrusted Louis Faure-Dujarric, known for constructing the centre court at Roland-Garros among others, to redesign the building. Gabrielle’s taste for modern and graphic aesthetic meant the Art Deco was her natural choice. She straightened the attics on the 4th floor and asked architect Pierre Figarol to add a fifth floor.

 

[yslforever]

What you mean ?

i was under the impression they did :

With the acquisition and opening of the new boutique, Chanel now owns rue Cambon’s 19, 23, 25, 27 29 and 31 addresses.

Gabrielle Chanel’s first acquisition at 31 rue Cambon was a four-storeyed building that was initially built as a townhouse at the end of the 18th century. It had an opening with a porch and a façade pierced by five asymmetric windows. Gabrielle entrusted Louis Faure-Dujarric, known for constructing the centre court at Roland-Garros among others, to redesign the building. Gabrielle’s taste for modern and graphic aesthetic meant the Art Deco was her natural choice. She straightened the attics on the 4th floor and asked architect Pierre Figarol to add a fifth floor.

4 of these numbers are long leases of 99 years, with granted permission (by the owners) to do building works, and as it is long leases, Chanel has some sort of "discounted" rent, small discount.
They all belong to the same, discreet and down-to-earth, family, which also owns nearly 11,000 apartments in Paris (even full streets in the Xth or XIth districts around République).
The family doesn't want to sell any properties at all (they are VERY comfortable but not greedy and always plan their estate 3 generations ahead), but as it is on 99 years leases, practically renewable on the same terms, and that they would never find another another tenant, everyone is happy that Chanel is disclosed as the owner. As they don't want to appear in the press.
And they are close friends to the Wertheimers, even neighbours, it's a gentlemen agreement.

 

[PDFSD]

United Kingdom : Fondation Chanel gets diversity makeover

Chanel CEO Leena Nair is preparing to overhaul the board of the luxury brand's charitable foundation, which has until now been uniformly white and socially homogeneous.

www.glitz.paris

United Kingdom
Fondation Chanel gets diversity makeover​

Chanel CEO Leena Nair is preparing to overhaul the board of the luxury brand's charitable foundation, which has until now been uniformly white and socially homogeneous. [...]

Published on 27.06.2024 at 05:00 GMT

 

[PDFSD]

​

Glitz.paris, the first investigative publication dedicated to the global luxury sector

Glitz.paris is an exclusive publication published since 2022 by the independent news organisation Indigo Publications.

www.glitz.paris

​

Spotlight | France
Chanel quietly buys up workshops across France​

In recent years, Chanel has focused its acquisition policy on buying up factories and workshops. © Studio Pachamama
The fashion house has been registered in the UK for years, but behind the scenes Chanel has been pursuing a proactive expansion plan in France, acquiring subcontractors and workshops across the country in a bid to catch up with rivals Hermès and LVMH. [...]

Published on 27.06.2024 at 05:00 GMT

 

[PDFSD]

https://www.lefigaro.fr/

Bruno Pavlovski, President of Chanel's Fashion Activities.
Chanel

"We will never start from scratch": Chanel's confidences on the profile of its future artistic director​

By Hélène Guillaume
Published 06/25/2024 at 2:47 p.m., update 06/25/2024 at 3:45 p.m.


EXCLUSIVE - Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion activities at the house on rue Cambon, talks about the sudden departure of collections director Virginie Viard and his quest for the "rare bird" to succeed her.


LE FIGARO. - You separated from your artistic director, Virginie Viard, on June 6.
Bruno Pavlovsky -  It's a beautiful story that has come to an end. Virginie joined Chanel in 1997 and her contribution has been exceptional throughout her collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld and during the last five years as director of collections. Compared to Karl who had a more "suit" approach to Chanel, Virginie has given back to the silhouette a femininity and lightness, an easier wear that appeals to all women. But as it can happen, the time had come for her and us to move on to another stage. Timing is imposed on us and that's life...

Where are your thoughts on his succession?
We decided to take the time needed to properly close this chapter and find a new creative organization. What I am sure of is that the ideal system for us is not to recruit an artistic director who offers the same thing in all the houses he works for. Too many artistic directors lose the meaning of their brand. Chanel has a product that exists, a strong product, and the power of Karl and Virginie has been to continue to make it evolve, to build it using the best of the past, each with their own vision but always at the service of the house. We will never wipe the slate clean of what exists at Chanel… There is a framework, the artistic direction must operate within this framework. We can obviously change it from the inside, but certainly not blow it up… Some American media have talked about the artistic director system no longer being adapted to the needs of large houses like ours. Are they right? Honestly, I don't know, you just have to think about it to find the rare bird! The biggest difficulty today is that few designers know haute couture, have this expertise.

Could you stop haute couture?
No, it is a foundation of Chanel. Coco only did haute couture, Karl relaunched the brand based on haute couture and Virginie began her career working in haute couture. Even in our ready-to-wear, there is a reading and understanding of the garment, of the construction on the body that begins with haute couture. Furthermore, it is also essential in terms of image and service: all our ready-to-wear customers dream of one day having access to it, of living this experience, that of fittings in particular.


Is it possible to separate the two activities with two artistic directions?
In the 1990s, we had two studios supervised by Karl, with Gilles Dufour in ready-to-wear and Virginie Viard in haute couture… We have great talents today in our haute couture studio, they have done a great job in a short time and in this particular context on this collection for next winter. This period also allows them to express themselves.

Are you considering promoting someone internally?
The talents of our studio worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld and then Virginie, they were the driving forces behind the collections of recent years. They represent a solid foundation, which does not necessarily mean that this foundation is capable of writing the history to come, but we are not ruling out any option. Everything will depend on the meetings we will have, the people we will approach or who have already approached us, and the way in which we will evolve in the weeks and months to come, knowing that today we have haute couture, the ready-to-wear fashion show for summer 2025 in early October, the Métiers d'art collection in December, etc.

Can you break free from the fashion system? Do you aspire to rise above and become more timeless, or is fashion the very essence of this house?
The essence of Chanel is sophistication, luxury. This unique blend of creation, know-how, exceptional materials… Now, should Chanel be a fashionable brand, should it anticipate trends, define fashion? Our history shows that it depends on the period. Sometimes there is a convergence of elements capable of causing the little spark that makes everyone find a collection great, we experienced it with Karl, with Virginie. There are other periods when we are less in the trend but more in tune with the deep spirit of the brand. The ideal is to combine these two approaches, but I think that the spark can only be born if we have a good command of the history of Chanel.

It's a long, deep, rich story that you really know when you spend years at Chanel. Can an outside personality learn it?
Of course, it is essential to take the time to master it, but you must already have the curiosity, the desire, the interest to understand this house of the Interior, and not in an artificial way. To make a comparison with football, I do not think that a coach who arrives at the head of a team can accomplish miracles in two months. At Chanel, it is necessary to absorb this culture to be able to make strokes of genius. If we find this person in three months, I will be delighted, if we have to wait nine months, we will wait. If in the long term, it is essential to embody the brand, we are not in an emergency that would push us to decide next month.

Chanel is a house founded by a woman, Coco Chanel. Is gender a criterion?
Woman or man, that is not the question, the question is the best or the best. The most important thing is the deep knowledge of the brand, its codes and having the ability to reinterpret them by projecting oneself into the future. We have said it again and again but creation for us is constantly based on the past to better build the future.

In recent years we have seen a lot of logos on Chanel products, could this change?
We are in a very competitive market, many brands are doing a very good job. Our products must be neither too simple nor too "branded". They must embody the house through the choice of materials, through the contribution of know-how. That said, we have the opportunity to give a new impetus, to shake things up, to enrich the house with a different vision. But always within a framework. If we find a great profile who tells us: "I love Chanel, I'm going to do Chanel, but I'm not going to do tweed", it's not going to work.

 

[FelipeV]

I don't fear 'cause I ain't getting a single penny from them, also I find the brand to be really tacky and rancid, for me there's only two ways: they go back to Coco's roots or they go fully camp, in which case someone like Jeremy Scott would be a perfect match.

 

[patriciadelatercera]

https://www.lefigaro.fr/

Bruno Pavlovski, President of Chanel's Fashion Activities.
Chanel

"We will never start from scratch": Chanel's confidences on the profile of its future artistic director​

By Hélène Guillaume
Published 06/25/2024 at 2:47 p.m., update 06/25/2024 at 3:45 p.m.


EXCLUSIVE - Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion activities at the house on rue Cambon, talks about the sudden departure of collections director Virginie Viard and his quest for the "rare bird" to succeed her.


LE FIGARO. - You separated from your artistic director, Virginie Viard, on June 6.
Bruno Pavlovsky -  It's a beautiful story that has come to an end. Virginie joined Chanel in 1997 and her contribution has been exceptional throughout her collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld and during the last five years as director of collections. Compared to Karl who had a more "suit" approach to Chanel, Virginie has given back to the silhouette a femininity and lightness, an easier wear that appeals to all women. But as it can happen, the time had come for her and us to move on to another stage. Timing is imposed on us and that's life...

Where are your thoughts on his succession?
We decided to take the time needed to properly close this chapter and find a new creative organization. What I am sure of is that the ideal system for us is not to recruit an artistic director who offers the same thing in all the houses he works for. Too many artistic directors lose the meaning of their brand. Chanel has a product that exists, a strong product, and the power of Karl and Virginie has been to continue to make it evolve, to build it using the best of the past, each with their own vision but always at the service of the house. We will never wipe the slate clean of what exists at Chanel… There is a framework, the artistic direction must operate within this framework. We can obviously change it from the inside, but certainly not blow it up… Some American media have talked about the artistic director system no longer being adapted to the needs of large houses like ours. Are they right? Honestly, I don't know, you just have to think about it to find the rare bird! The biggest difficulty today is that few designers know haute couture, have this expertise.

Could you stop haute couture?
No, it is a foundation of Chanel. Coco only did haute couture, Karl relaunched the brand based on haute couture and Virginie began her career working in haute couture. Even in our ready-to-wear, there is a reading and understanding of the garment, of the construction on the body that begins with haute couture. Furthermore, it is also essential in terms of image and service: all our ready-to-wear customers dream of one day having access to it, of living this experience, that of fittings in particular.


Is it possible to separate the two activities with two artistic directions?
In the 1990s, we had two studios supervised by Karl, with Gilles Dufour in ready-to-wear and Virginie Viard in haute couture… We have great talents today in our haute couture studio, they have done a great job in a short time and in this particular context on this collection for next winter. This period also allows them to express themselves.

Are you considering promoting someone internally?
The talents of our studio worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld and then Virginie, they were the driving forces behind the collections of recent years. They represent a solid foundation, which does not necessarily mean that this foundation is capable of writing the history to come, but we are not ruling out any option. Everything will depend on the meetings we will have, the people we will approach or who have already approached us, and the way in which we will evolve in the weeks and months to come, knowing that today we have haute couture, the ready-to-wear fashion show for summer 2025 in early October, the Métiers d'art collection in December, etc.

Can you break free from the fashion system? Do you aspire to rise above and become more timeless, or is fashion the very essence of this house?
The essence of Chanel is sophistication, luxury. This unique blend of creation, know-how, exceptional materials… Now, should Chanel be a fashionable brand, should it anticipate trends, define fashion? Our history shows that it depends on the period. Sometimes there is a convergence of elements capable of causing the little spark that makes everyone find a collection great, we experienced it with Karl, with Virginie. There are other periods when we are less in the trend but more in tune with the deep spirit of the brand. The ideal is to combine these two approaches, but I think that the spark can only be born if we have a good command of the history of Chanel.

It's a long, deep, rich story that you really know when you spend years at Chanel. Can an outside personality learn it?
Of course, it is essential to take the time to master it, but you must already have the curiosity, the desire, the interest to understand this house of the Interior, and not in an artificial way. To make a comparison with football, I do not think that a coach who arrives at the head of a team can accomplish miracles in two months. At Chanel, it is necessary to absorb this culture to be able to make strokes of genius. If we find this person in three months, I will be delighted, if we have to wait nine months, we will wait. If in the long term, it is essential to embody the brand, we are not in an emergency that would push us to decide next month.

Chanel is a house founded by a woman, Coco Chanel. Is gender a criterion?
Woman or man, that is not the question, the question is the best or the best. The most important thing is the deep knowledge of the brand, its codes and having the ability to reinterpret them by projecting oneself into the future. We have said it again and again but creation for us is constantly based on the past to better build the future.

In recent years we have seen a lot of logos on Chanel products, could this change?
We are in a very competitive market, many brands are doing a very good job. Our products must be neither too simple nor too "branded". They must embody the house through the choice of materials, through the contribution of know-how. That said, we have the opportunity to give a new impetus, to shake things up, to enrich the house with a different vision. But always within a framework. If we find a great profile who tells us: "I love Chanel, I'm going to do Chanel, but I'm not going to do tweed", it's not going to work.

This level of control from management even on a creative level is second to none. I doubt you could name another brand that is sooo afraid to let full creative control to someone.

 

[PDFSD]

This level of control from management even on a creative level is second to none. I doubt you could name another brand that is sooo afraid to let full creative control to someone.

Hermes :-) ...but i think it more about total freedom to stretch the idea of chanel within a framework of house codes because KL did push Chanel in all types of direction but the chanel elements were always there from bikers to rappers, highbrow and lowbrow, to minimal years.

Honestly it should be a joy to have a house with so much identifying elements in color, rtw, bags & shoes, parfum, jewelry, backstory, logo´s , they have it all basically.

And if you take the job of Chanel CD its because you love those elements to play with.

 

[patriciadelatercera]

Hermes :-) ...but i think it more about total freedom to stretch the idea of chanel within a framework of house codes because KL did push Chanel in all types of direction but the chanel elements were always there from bikers to rappers, highbrow and lowbrow, to minimal years.

Honestly it should be a joy to have a house with so much identifying elements in color, rtw, bags & shoes, parfum, jewelry, backstory, logo´s , they have it all basically.

And if you take the job of Chanel CD its because you love those elements to play with.

Agree, great points!

 

[Drusilla_]

there's a chance the next designer won't be be someone exciting either, sure they let VV go but they were fine with her boringness for five years, I doubt there's been an epiphany about avoiding dullness after that.

 

[PDFSD]

there's a chance the next designer won't be be someone exciting either, sure they let VV go but they were fine with her boringness for five years, I doubt there's been an epiphany about avoiding dullness after that.

this i feel strongly as well i think they know what's worked enough to keep the people coming even if VV was dull for fashion for real clients it worked well.

 

[Drusilla_]

^honestly that's why I'm so surprised at her departure coming now, they were content with the collections being dull as long as they sold. And they did sell!