ExplainerChanel, Primark don’t sell fashion online – for different reasons: one to remain an exclusive brand and the other because it’s not worth it

By refusing to sell fashion online, Chanel is putting forward the idea that it’s offering something exclusive the customer has to make an effort to acquire

Primark has a website to browse, but no e-commerce wing because of how difficult it is to make a profit delivering low-cost clothing

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A Chanel look from Paris Fashion Week in 2018. Chanel, like fast-fashion retailer Primark at the other end of the industry, does not sell fashion online. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15am, 16 Aug 2021Updated: 9:15am, 24 Aug 2021

It’s difficult to imagine the late Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel and Fendi, standing in line at a Primark store – and I doubt current Chanel creative director Virginie Viard has ever rifled through its famous discount bin.

The deeply stylish French luxury brand couldn’t be more different from the Irish fast-fashion retailer. And yet one of the most luxurious brands in the world and one of the least have one thing in common: both are steadfastly ignoring the e-commerce boom.

Today, you can buy Chanel fragrance, cosmetics, skincare and sunglasses online, but if you want to purchase any kind of fashion item you need to go to either a Chanel boutique or an associated department store – and a change in strategy looks unlikely any time soon.

This sets the French label apart from similarly priced competitors such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton, which have expanded their online offerings over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Primark is estimated to have lost over US$1.39 billion in revenue in Britain and Ireland alone over a year of lockdowns.

Meanwhile, almost uniquely among low-cost brands, Primark has a website to browse but no e-commerce wing. As a result, the brand is estimated to have lost over £1 billion (US$1.39 billion) in revenue in Britain and Ireland alone over a year of lockdowns, when in-store fashion purchases were banned.