Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Prices for three classic Chanel handbags are about to climb in Europe and drop in Asia as Chanel begins to harmonize its global prices, WWD reports. Starting April 8th, Chanel will adjust the price tags for the 11.12 bag, the Boy bag, and the 2.55 bag.
Chanel has been dealing with striking price differentials as the price of the euro falls, with some Chanel products retailing for twice as much as much in Asia as they do in Europe. Price tags for other products will be harmonized as well, with the goal of full alignment by the end of the year. (Brazil will be the exception, due to high export duties.) The hope is that worldwide prices at the company shouldn't fluctuate more than 10% above or 10% below the global euro benchmark.
For example, The Boy Bag (pictured above) currently retails for 3,100 euros in Europe, but will rise to 3,720 euros this year. In Asia, the price of the Boy Bag will drop from 32,700 yuan to 26,000 yuan.
"We want to focus on customers who are seduced by the brand, who are seduced by our creativity, by our know-how and our finishing, and not just the price differential," Chanel’s president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky told WWD. Pavlovsky notes that prices in the US, UK, Canada, and Japan are already well aligned, and won't require significant adjustment.
He also acknowledged that the new pricing would help Chanel one day get into e-commerce, although he declined to say when that would happen. But Pavlovsky wasn't worried that the price change would disrupt business. "2014 has been the best year ever at Chanel, and we feel we are strong enough to do this," he said.