Fresh from the social media frenzy about Chanel handbag price increases that (fortunately) did not happen (yet) comes information about Chanel’s longer term strategic goals. Recently interviewed by The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed, Chanel CEO Leena Nair identified three areas for the future of the brand. [Raising prices was not among the specified goals, though likely embedded in an ultimate strategy at some point.]
Image courtesy: LinkedIn
Nair, as you may recall, took the helm of Chanel in 2022, after a career at consumer brand giant Unilever, where her last position was in Global HR. Joining the Maison as an outsider, she spent her first two years traveling the world to “immerse herself in the Chanel universe from stores to suppliers, to studios and headquarters teams.”
As described to Amed, and paraphrased here, Nair’s vision encompasses the following goals for Chanel:
- Creating positive social and environmental impact in areas like sustainability and social development including circularity, worker conditions in the supply chain, and promoting women’s autonomy.
- Preserving the importance of human touch including craftsmanship, particularly in a world of AI and tech advances, and shopping experience. Moreover, she has committed to training at least 1200 craftspeople per year.
- Reasserting Chanel’s identity as an innovator (of fashion) of whatever is next, whether fashion, art, music, movie, dance, game design or anything else.
Image courtesy: @thestylishfreelancer
What any and all of this means in practice and reality remains to be seen. Does a goal of circularity mean that Chanel will go into the resale business? Or is it about using sustainable and compostable materials?
When Nair discusses the human touch and experience relating to shopping, it seems an acknowledgment of the personal connections with the brand in ways that cannot be found online. As a result, it does suggest that Chanel likely will not be selling its high fashion items including handbags online.
Lastly, it’s not surprising that Chanel – a brand with roots in fashion innovation and style – aims to maintain its place in that world. Whether through the latest in all art media, or tech, it seems Chanel prefers to lead, rather than follow, much as its founder, Coco Chanel, did.
What do you think of Nair’s goals for Chanel? And how, if at all, do price increases play a role? Let us know.
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Updated: December 4th, 2023
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