Chanel has been at the forefront of haute couture. Let’s take a look at how the fashion house is going beyond the runway to transform luxury retail.
Luxury is in a state of flux. The consulting firm Deloitte shows that luxury retail sales increase by 6.8% every year. Luxury retailers earn an annual average of $212 billion in sales.
Some claim that luxury retail has plateaued or is in a state of decline. This uncertainty is causing luxury retailers to redefine their business models.
The name Chanel has been synonymous with luxury retail and upscale goods. It’s been that way since its inception in 1910. The legendary fashion house is changing the face of luxury retail in the 21st century. Here a few of the most surprising and innovative ways Chanel is reshaping the industry.
How Chanel is Changing the Face of Luxury Retail
Luxury retail has hit a brick wall in terms of acquiring new customers. This is causing a sea change in how upscale retailers approach business and marketing.
Let’s look at some of the ways that the infamous Parisian fashion moguls are reshaping luxury retail for the 21st century.
Chanel Goes Digital
One of the biggest drivers of the change in the retail industry is online shopping and e-commerce. To navigate this transition, Chanel has recently teamed up with London online retailer Farfetch. It does so in the hopes of reaching a wider audience and maintaining widespread relevance.
Until recently, Chanel has held out against selling its products online. The partnership of Chanel and Farfetch speaks to a greater societal trend. Digital sales are no longer optional.
It is worth noting that Chanel will not turn over its digital sales to Farfetch. It will retain control of its brand and rely on Farfetch for advice and guidance on how to bring real value to customers’ lives without becoming invasive or intrusive.
Chanel understands the importance of a brand and maintaining certain standards. Savvy retailers will adhere to strict guidelines and quality control to maintain an upscale brand identity, as can be seen via the outstanding work of Jansy retail packaging design.
Chanel Redefines Shopping as An Experience
Brick-and-mortar retailers should start doing more than just warehousing products. Experiential shopping is on the rise as physical retailers compete with online sales.
Online sales increased by 15% in 2016. Compare that number to the fact that 77% of consumers try to avoid stores and the fate of retailers selling luxury goods in the physical sphere starts to cause some alarm.
Chanel has recently allocated 25 million euros toward revitalizing its flagship Grand Palais storefront. This is in spite of the “retail apocalypse” which is the alarmist term for the shuttering of brick-and-mortar stores throughout Europe and North America.
Chanel’s Grand Palais announcement shows it might have an even better understanding of the business of selling luxury goods than the economists and think tanks. Analysts have been broadcasting gloomy forecasts about the future of physical retail for almost all of e-commerce’s existence.
Forbes has recently predicted a new era for physical retailers. The future of retail might not be exclusively online, but rather involve the digital into the physical.
Chanel Updates Iconic Styles in Innovative Ways
Constantly striving for innovation can lead to an identity crisis. While fashion designers and retailers strive to remain relevant in the current climate, they run the risk of losing what makes them unique and noteworthy in the first place. Failing to do so can get a brand working in the luxury goods industry relegated to the dustbin of history, however.
As the TV show Project Runway reminds us, “In fashion, one minute you’re in, the next minute you’re out.” Trying too hard to jump on trends and bandwagons can come across like a 40-something trying to pull of an outfit meant for a tween. It’s not a good look, as they might say on the show.
Chanel is well-known for its distinctive quilted patterns, especially on its handbags. Chanel teamed up with upscale jewelry designers to create a line of jewelry based on the classic quilted patterns.
The Coco Crush jewelry collection casts Chanel’s signature quilted style into 24k gold. The quilted pattern can be found in rings, earrings, and watch bands. They’re stackable as well as coming in a variety of types of gold. Chanel knows how to leverage its customer’s collector’s impulses as well as their craving for quality and a distinctive brand.
Chanel Redefines Celebrity Sponsorship
As long as we have celebrities, brands are likely to take advantage of their fame to sell products. The days of celebrities simply propping up a product in a photograph are quickly receding as consumers get increasingly resistant to traditional marketing and advertising.
Chanel is finding new ways to incorporate celebrities into its marketing campaigns. It’s also redefining the flashy fashion spectacle in the same breath.
Chanel has always incorporated music into its grand fashion spectacles. It incorporated Cuban musicians into its first International fashion show in Havana, Cuba. It even worked Elton John’s “Rocket Man” into a rocket-themed set.
Chanel has even featured an entire orchestra, in a particularly ambitious show at this year’s Metiers d’Art 2018 show. Chanel has worked out a way to incorporate its musical legacy and celebrity endorsement in a particularly savvy show of promotional synergy.
Chanel has recently paired with Apple Music to curate a series of playlists. The Chanel Soundtracks will also feature big musical names like Pharrell Williams, who will also curate custom playlists for the legendary French fashionistas.
Chanel is a shining example of the current state of retailers plying luxurious goods. Classic, time-honored practices like timeless designs, attention to quality, and knowing your audience are being paired with cutting-edge digital technologies in truly stunning combinations.
Trends like augmented retail and experiential shopping offer glimpses of what the future might have in store for fashion. There is hope for the future of upscale retailers after all.
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