They've lost their minds. Charging outrageous prices doesn't make the item exclusive. It makes resale sites look even more appealing since you can get a great bag for a fraction of these inflated prices. I bought a Chanel bag in 2015 for about $3500 - I can only imagine what it would cost today. Is it significantly better? No. Will I ever buy another? Hell, no.
I think the next 5 years are going to be very interesting for Chanel. IMO they need to reset a bit if they want to attract and retain the next generation of customers. Between the price increases, the long lines to shop in stores (queuing is not a luxury experience), and greater awareness of how Coco was basically a garbage human being it feels like the brand may lose some cache with the more socially aware younger generations
Adding to this that Virginie Viard doesn't have Karl's Lagerfeld's aura so it can also play on the perception of the brand. Though Karl Lagerfeld referenced and paid homage to Gabrielle Chanel, people bought the brand because of him. With Virginie Viard much more reserved approach, people seem to focus more on Chanel, the maison's founder.
I will be curious to see if there is a backlash because people will feel the quality and experience is not on par with the price. To me luxury is justified by either exceptional quality or exceptional service/experience or both. If they can’t deliver in these points why buy.
I don’t buy any of those brands because people just buy them to signify that they “maybe” can afford them. I stick to avant garde classics that stand the test of time and always look chic. IYKYK. I have vintage Prada from the 90s, Yohji, & Comme des Garçons that are serving me well & don’t make me look like a label whore. If a person feels they must have the brands you mentioned, I advise them to purchase resale. Why do these companies keep churning out more and more stuff? So much for sustainability.
I think that some bags in this list don't really look exclusive nor luxurious nor they have any resell value whatsoever (LV, Gucci, Prada). Chanel quality decline is not necessarily of interest to a certain demographic. People are getting used to things being quite badly made and still want them because they are hyped... Sadly.
So interesting and at some point one would assume that Chanel would hit the ceiling for price increases. The RealReal is apparently going to release an “as is” quality category. Providing an even bigger gap for the price of a new and used Chanel bag (if the “vintage” consignment bag hasn’t been well taken care of. I also fear this drives even more consumers to counterfeit vs “trading down” to a less expensive or more appropriately priced brand.
I think the legacy bags on the resale sites are about to be even more popular - lots of excellent quality early aughts Celine/Balenciaga/Fendi/LV is available in good shape, especially from Japan/Singapore.
This gave me the idea to search for Canada Goose parkas on Farfetch, and sure enough there are zero available... almost every other product category is represented, but not the cash cow. Is it safe to assume CG corporate has someone snapping up every pre-owned parka the second it hits the website to maintain their own juicy MSRP rate?
In 10-20 years, it will be interesting to see the re-sale market for Chanel bags that are made now. I bet their value will highly decrease and that older versions with gold-plated hardware will be rarer, yet the most sought after. Maybe we will see new generations more appreciative of quality because of this?
They've lost their minds. Charging outrageous prices doesn't make the item exclusive. It makes resale sites look even more appealing since you can get a great bag for a fraction of these inflated prices. I bought a Chanel bag in 2015 for about $3500 - I can only imagine what it would cost today. Is it significantly better? No. Will I ever buy another? Hell, no.
I remember when a Speedy was under $600...
I think the next 5 years are going to be very interesting for Chanel. IMO they need to reset a bit if they want to attract and retain the next generation of customers. Between the price increases, the long lines to shop in stores (queuing is not a luxury experience), and greater awareness of how Coco was basically a garbage human being it feels like the brand may lose some cache with the more socially aware younger generations
Adding to this that Virginie Viard doesn't have Karl's Lagerfeld's aura so it can also play on the perception of the brand. Though Karl Lagerfeld referenced and paid homage to Gabrielle Chanel, people bought the brand because of him. With Virginie Viard much more reserved approach, people seem to focus more on Chanel, the maison's founder.
I will be curious to see if there is a backlash because people will feel the quality and experience is not on par with the price. To me luxury is justified by either exceptional quality or exceptional service/experience or both. If they can’t deliver in these points why buy.
I don’t buy any of those brands because people just buy them to signify that they “maybe” can afford them. I stick to avant garde classics that stand the test of time and always look chic. IYKYK. I have vintage Prada from the 90s, Yohji, & Comme des Garçons that are serving me well & don’t make me look like a label whore. If a person feels they must have the brands you mentioned, I advise them to purchase resale. Why do these companies keep churning out more and more stuff? So much for sustainability.
I think that some bags in this list don't really look exclusive nor luxurious nor they have any resell value whatsoever (LV, Gucci, Prada). Chanel quality decline is not necessarily of interest to a certain demographic. People are getting used to things being quite badly made and still want them because they are hyped... Sadly.
So interesting and at some point one would assume that Chanel would hit the ceiling for price increases. The RealReal is apparently going to release an “as is” quality category. Providing an even bigger gap for the price of a new and used Chanel bag (if the “vintage” consignment bag hasn’t been well taken care of. I also fear this drives even more consumers to counterfeit vs “trading down” to a less expensive or more appropriately priced brand.
I think the legacy bags on the resale sites are about to be even more popular - lots of excellent quality early aughts Celine/Balenciaga/Fendi/LV is available in good shape, especially from Japan/Singapore.
This gave me the idea to search for Canada Goose parkas on Farfetch, and sure enough there are zero available... almost every other product category is represented, but not the cash cow. Is it safe to assume CG corporate has someone snapping up every pre-owned parka the second it hits the website to maintain their own juicy MSRP rate?
Ooh interesting... It looks like CG sells "gently used" product on their own site:
https://generations.canadagoose.com/collections/womens
Good find! That lead me to the newly discovered “vintage” section as well which had some gems
In 10-20 years, it will be interesting to see the re-sale market for Chanel bags that are made now. I bet their value will highly decrease and that older versions with gold-plated hardware will be rarer, yet the most sought after. Maybe we will see new generations more appreciative of quality because of this?
I hope this prices increases, benefit also the workers and employees of these brands.
Prices per se are ridiculous high! They are justified for marketing and branding but is not the reality.
The follow a marketing old say: “ the price of any product is what a buyer is willing to pay” 🤷🏻♀️
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/luxury-hand-me-downs-are-now-worth-billions-of-dollars-68d8ad6b