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Fashion
LifestyleFashion & Beauty

Chanel raises prices on handbags again ahead of holiday season, and by up to 29 per cent; company cites rising costs and exchange rates to justify increases

  • The French luxury brand has increased the price of two of its handbags – the Classic by 16 per cent, to US$8,400, and the 2.55 by 29 per cent, to over US$9,000
  • Earlier Chanel had forecast a double-digit increase in 2021 profits over 2019 after having a good pandemic – and did not rule out further price increases

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The price of Chanel’s quilted leather 2.55 handbag has risen 29 per cent to over US$9,000. The French luxury brand justified the rise by citing higher costs and exchange rate changes.
Reuters

French luxury brand Chanel has hiked prices of some of its most sought after handbags at a time when strong consumer demand and low stocks in the run-up to the holiday shopping season are boosting their exclusivity.

Privately owned Chanel, one of the biggest brands in the €280 billion (US$340 billion) global luxury industry, and rival Louis Vuitton, owned by LVMH, have weathered the coronavirus crisis better than most other retailers and have raised prices several times to boost their profit margins.
Sales at Chanel fell 17.6 per cent last year, but the core profit margin stood at around 20 per cent, according to analysts, making it one of the most profitable companies in the sector. It said in June it expects revenues to increase by double digits this year compared with their 2019, pre-pandemic levels.
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The price of Chanel’s small Classic handbag has gone up by 16 per cent to €7,300 (US$8,400) since the end of September. The hike, first reported by French news channel BFM TV, was confirmed by Reuters using the Internet Archive, a repository of past web pages.

Sales at Chanel fell 17.6 per cent last year, but the core profit margin stood at around 20 per cent, making it one of the most profitable companies in the sector.
Sales at Chanel fell 17.6 per cent last year, but the core profit margin stood at around 20 per cent, making it one of the most profitable companies in the sector.
The price of another popular handbag, the quilted leather 2.55 with a golden chain, was €7,800 on Chanel’s website on November 4, 2021 compared with €6,050 in December 2020, an increase of almost 29 per cent, the Reuters analysis showed.
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