Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci up their prices, getting you ready for the Holidays. Treat yo’ self!
While a plethora of brands have weathered out the COVID-19 crisis in varying degrees of success, the French luxury brand Chanel has done better than most.
They’re doing so well that they announced a price increase for two iconic handbags in the lineup: the small Chanel Classic handbag is now up by 16 percent at $8,400 and the quilted leather Chanel 2.55 with gold chain is now $8,991, up 29 percent from its previous price from December.
Despite sales falling at 17.6 percent last year, profit margins stood at 20%, allowing the privately-owned Maison to stay as a profitable company in its core group. Chanel also expects revenues to go up by double digits, a high compared to pre-pandemic levels.
With a consumer demand that shows no signs of stopping and a looming holiday season, it seems this was a good choice, and a chance to boost their perceived value.
A look at other highly sought-after designer brands revealed the same across the board. Hermès weathered the height of the pandemic very well, dropping only 6% (allowing for currency adjustment). The last holiday season saw this other privately-owned brand enjoy a 12.3 percent up kick in late-quarter sales to $2.54 billion. While their price increases haven’t been as attention-grabbing as Chanel’s, they are there: An Hermès Lindy 30, previously $9,150, is now $9,250. An Hermès Bolide 31, once priced at $8,300 is now $100 more expensive at $8,400.
Concurrently, some prices have also gone down: the Hermès Herbag Zip 31 Verso went from $2,60 to US $2,575 ($25 less), while the Hermès Trim Duo 24 went down $150, from US $5,450 to US $5,300.
A look at Louis Vuitton showed that the popular monogram bags saw the hike: The Louis Vuitton Pochette Accessoires went up in price by 33 percent from $790 to $1,050 while the entire Speedy Line went up on average at 17 percent. The Louis Vuitton Pochette Métis was at $2,050 to 2,360 (15.12 percent). The highly desired LV Multi Pochette Accessoires line had, on average, a 15 percent hike. This is actually the brand’s second price increase for the year.
Dior, which usually announces their price increase at the middle or the end of the year, bucked the trend by announcing last February. The Dior Saddle Bag Medium Calfskin was $3,350 and is now $3, 800 (13.4 percent). The Dior Lady Dior Mini went from $3,950 to $4300 at an 8.9 percent increase. The popular Dior Book Tote Oblique jumped from $2,900 to a 12.1 percent increase at $3,250.
Meanwhile, Gucci price increases have been happening on a location-based premise. Hypebeast noted that China saw a 9.3 percent increase on the Gucci Marmont Super Mini Bag. The piece is now available for US $1,269. In France, prices on average went up by 2.9 percent on 401 bags since the first quarter of the tear. The GG Marmont Matelassé rose by 21.1 percent.
It seems despite the continuing COVID-19 crisis, and the global supply chain problem hitting designer brands, demand for these pieces has not stopped.
