Correction on Price Increase

#76
I completely agree that CHANEL is targeting a completely different group of ladies, but I would not say that their entire collection reflects that.

I have worked with many different designer lines in handbags. In my experience, CHANEL's quality is by far superior to any other I have worked with.

I know I do not have to justify the price increase because it is way beyond my control. I was just trying to give another look as to why they might be increasing the prices, rather than just saying that CHANEL is greedy.
 
#77
CHANELboy said:
I completely agree that CHANEL is targeting a completely different group of ladies, but I would not say that their entire collection reflects that.

I have worked with many different designer lines in handbags. In my experience, CHANEL's quality is by far superior to any other I have worked with.

I know I do not have to justify the price increase because it is way beyond my control. I was just trying to give another look as to why they might be increasing the prices, rather than just saying that CHANEL is greedy.
Click to expand...

I understand your point CHANELboy. But I think it's not easy to accept the price increase while quality is getting worse and worse. Eventhough Chanel's quality is better than many brands but we can't accept anything other than the kind of quality Chanel used to be. It's worryfree. I would not say every bag has quality problem. But the quality problems we are experiencing with new bags rarely exist in vintage bags. Loose stitch, strap broken, misalignment, etc... I must say Chanel is greedy if they care only about increasing price.
 
#78
katie123 said:
I understand your point CHANELboy. But I think it's not easy to accept the price increase while quality is getting worse and worse. Eventhough Chanel's quality is better than many brands but we can't accept anything other than the kind of quality Chanel used to be. It's worryfree. I would not say every bag has quality problem. But the quality problems we are experiencing with new bags rarely exist in vintage bags. Loose stitch, strap broken, misalignment, etc... I must say Chanel is greedy if they care only about increasing price.
Click to expand...

Well said katie123 and more importantly you are correct.


To reiterate, "Since Lagerfeld took over Chanel, in 1983, more than a decade after the death of its founder, Coco Chanel, it has become one of the most profitable luxury brands in the world, with revenues estimated at more than four billion dollars a year. The company is privately owned and does not release earnings figures."
New Yorker article - http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/19/070319fa_fact_colapinto


Chanel's new global CEO, 43-year old Maureen Chiquet is targeting "new wealth" customers. "More and more customers are acquiring wealth at earlier ages," Chiquet says, "defining wealth as a net worth over $1 million." These women have more cutting-edge fashion tastes."
Chanel's American In Paris - http://www.businessweek.com/print/globalbiz/content/jan2007/gb20070118_532070.htm
 
#80
I have to admit, I've had more quality issues with my Chanel bags than I've ever had with an LV.......for some reason I'm more consistently satified with LV's I get, I just happen to love the look of Chanel right now though I tend to go in and out of phases so I'll get my fill for now and that's all I can do.....Most luxury designers have been rather neck and neck in pricing their goods based on material etc. like a canvas LV was comparable to a travel ligne Chanel, Vernis or Epi leather LV comparable to Chanel Caviar and Patent leathers but now Chanel is taking it to the next level, like they want to be there with Hermes, I just don't see why they feel the need to do this....are there too many of us working slum wearing their bags.
 
#82
I'm so over Chanel after reading that article several months ago that it didn't hurt as badly as I thought when I sold my red Ultimate Soft. I will keep my Medallion tote and my Ultimate Soft double flap, but as far as future Chanel purchases, there won't be any unless it's after market. I refuse to enable such an elitist attitude with my hard earned UNDER 1 million net income. :mad:
 
#83
pattihansen said:
I don't believe any of the other high end manufacturers are moving the prices up as quickly as Chanel. I just find it disturbing because MAYBE the cost of labor is going up, and maybe the US dollar is weaker but these increases are insane.

To say that we can view the purchase of a Chanel bag as an investment is, in my opinion, false. A collectors item or an investment item must be in pretty good condition or in most cases, perfect, in the box and basically unused to retain any value for resale. I like to use my bags so they aren't going to remain in perfect condition, even if used carefully.

We all love the fact that they are handmade, but so are Bottega bags, and have they had the same increases? I guess it comes down to the fact that if you love Chanel and if you have the money and it is okay to spend it on a bag then do it.

BUT, I do think it is just basically greed of a "privately owned" company and I really don't think that any SA needs to try and justify price increases to the customer by saying they are investments or a rich history of the Chanel brand. We don't hold them responsible for anything Chanel does with their prices. We love our SAs because they are the ones who get us our stuff.

Lucas to you and all the people who work with you at Nordys or any of the other stores that sell Chanel we think the world of you guys and we know this puts you in a difficult postion with all of us complaining and whining.
Click to expand...

ITA. Whether or not we are in Chanel's "target group" this is a great reminder to reassess our own justification for our Chanel addiction. Even without the impending 22% increase, these bags are already very expensive. Sometimes we get so caught up in the brand and the prestige that it's easy to forget what else we could be doing with our money. As for myself, for Chanel to keep my loyalty I need to see better quality control. I've already received two defective brand new bags this season alone. Imagine the odds of that if the Chanel quality is supposed to be at the top of the food chain. Otherwise, I will go back to collecting my beloved non-Chanel exotic skins for the kind of prices Chanel is heading toward...
 
#84
^^^I'm not a huge Hermes fan, but for what Chanel is wanting for some of these bags, I could get the one Hermes I do like: a Bolide!

Since Chanel wants to play the exclusivity card, even in spite of Hermes "politics" I'd take the exclusivity of a Bolide over any Chanel, any day. :blah:
 
#87
I do not know of anyone who enjoys being taken advantage of "new wealth" or not.

To simply increase prices because one can and to announce to the world you want to take advantage of a certain demographic is beyond ludicrousness!

One example, I read billionairess Leona Helmsley made a sales clerk rewrite a bill for earrings to save $4 in sales tax and reportedly said: "That's how the rich get richer."
'Queen of Mean' hotelier Helmsley Dies - http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8R4VEDG2.htm


My point is: "When you hear hoof beats...don't think zebras!" In other words, sometimes it is, what it is. And in this case it's pure, unadulterated GREED.
 
#89
^^^Chanel may end up doing far more damage to themselves with this little proclamation and insane price increases when those of us that WERE buying Chanels (but, heaven forbid don't have a net worth of 1 million) start boycotting their products.

All this just makes me love my Pradas that much more. They can get pricey, but there are still plenty of very nice bags well under 2K and Pradas also go on sale!
 
#90
Hello. I'm a new member to the purse forum and just love this place. Have been reading these posts and got tempted to jump in on this topic--high prices and quality of bags. An excellent book that just came out is Deluxe--How Luxury Lost its Luster by Dana Thomas. She has a chapter on designer handbags. See below for some of points she makes in this book:

1. "...the profit margin is astounding: for most luxury brands the profit is between ten and twelve times the cost to make the item. At Vuitton, it's as much as thirteen times." According to Miuccia Prada, "The handbag is the miracle of the company."

2. "Yes, luxury handbags are made in China. Top brands. Brands that you carry. Brands that deny outright that their bags are made in China make their bags in China, not in Italy, not in France, not in the United Kingdom.
...Each brand made the manufacture sign a cofidentiality agreement stipulating that he could not reveal the fact that he produced their products in China. Furthermore, the manufacturer doesn't let the competition know who else he is producing...The change came in the mid-1990s when Coach decided to move a small portion of its production from the United States to China. Coach's stock value increased a whopping 1,270 percent in the first five years ...other luxury brands quietly began to look into producing leather goods in China.

3. "The brands have little tricks to get around the China label. One brand's "Made in China" label is actually a sticker affixed to the outer package. The luxury brand rips it off when the goods arrive in Italy and replaces it with a "Made in Italy" label. Another has the entire bag made in China except the for the handle. The bag is shipped to Italy, where the Italian-made handle is attached.

4. The following lists are not complete:
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy (LVMH) --It has more than 50 brands. Some are Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Dior, Bliss, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Celine, e-Luxury.com, Duty Free Shoppers (DFS-majority owned)
Gucci Group--YSL, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta

Independently owned--Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes, Chanel

5. "A handful of major brands--Hermes and Chanel in particular--strive to maintain and seem to achieve true luxury. The quality comes through in their products...and in their philosophies. Both firms over the years have bought or invested in old, traditional luxury brands that produced "exceptional products,...not for simply profit but because executives wanted them to continue to exist."

Chanel may need to raise prices to compete with designer brands that focus on profitability rather than quality. I don't have a Chanel bag, but yearn one. Hope the above helps. Sorry it's long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back