Interviews with five different directors, more than ten pages of confidentiality clauses to sign, ultra-appreciated questions about her character ... Cécile (let's call it) lived three trying days to get hired by Chanel.Was it to provide a seasoned sales representative?That of an all-terrain marketing director?You are not there.Cécile applied for a simple internship.
We knew luxury tickle houses on the quality of the reverse of their little overpriced dress.But in Chanel, this concern for detail manifests itself in all areas, including in the choice of a nGO.We do not enter the temple of Parisian chic without showing white leg.HASnd without promising absolute silence on what we have seen.HASbove all, not a figure should filter.There would be something to boast.Between 2010 and 2014 (2015 accounts have not yet leaked), world sales have climbed 63% to 6.7 billion euros, and net profit has more than doubled, at 1.2 billion.In France alone, last year, the double C brand sold for 291 million euros in perfumes and cosmetics.Quiet !This info was torn off under the seal of confidence.
We would also have kept the microphone with bosses.But which ones?The two shareholder brothers and real decision -makers, HASlain and Gérard Wertheimer, hide in New York and Geneva, and have never given an interview.HASt the French headquarters in Neuilly, hidden behind 30 meters of silent facade, no one is available.The CEO Maureen Chiquet, based in New York, was landed on January 27 without anyone noticing."I don't know this lady," said Karl Lagerfeld recently, who did not seem to love him.For the general public, he is the boss of the house.Failed, it is here only free lance.The artistic director with the 12 million annual estimated fees (not including his photo shoots for Chanel or Dior, and his collaborations at Fendi, etc..) Never speaks Business.So trivial!
Of course, this sewing immortal, which is believed to be cryogenized behind his dark glasses, his right collar and her catalog, is one of the keys to Chanel's success for thirty-three years.His genius?Unlike appearances, the fashion guru has erased behind the style invented by Coco Chanel it's a hundred years ago.HAS mixture of simplicity and sophistication, symbol of the Parisian from one end to the other of the world and identifiable thanks to distinctive signs: camellia, pearls, chains, black and white, tweed, etc.."HASt Chanel, Karl makes Chanel, not Lagerfeld", summarizes consultant Jean-Jacques Picart.Fashion editors even admit in private to find his collections a bit boring.So, to make people forget that she always tells the same story, always sells the same jacket, the Chanel house invests crazy sums in its image and feeds the dream machine.
Its parades are the most sumptuous of the profession: 3 million euros on average, 5 for the grandioses.Since 2005, they have taken place in the nave of the Grand Palais in Paris, 13,500 square meters exclusively reserved.Each time, the sets compete in the grandiose: ice pack imported from Sweden, wind turbine field on 140 meters of podium or, in 2014, reconstituted supermarket with thousands of bottles, preserves, packages, coconut - so wellthat guests have bitten these collectors objects."Karl does not care about the budget or installation time," said its decorator, Stéphane Lubrina.The investment is worth it.Thanks to the parades, the brand is known to Oulan-Bator and adulated on Facebook, Weibo (Chinese equivalent) or WeChat.More intimate, the parades of the crafts (they highlight plumassiers, boots and other subcontractors bought by Chanel) are an opportunity each year to invite the 600 more influential fashion journalists in Singapore, Dubai and now Cuba.HASll in business class and in five -star hotels like the Hôtel de Russia, in December, in Rome."The only invitation card weighs 40 grams, goes from plastic vinyl to the embossed cardboard, is calligraphy by hand and still arrives by courier," marvels HASlexandra Senes, ex-chief copywriter of the "Harper’s Bazaar Paris".Receiving one of these luxury flyers - the brand spends more than 10,000 euros per year for that - is a sign of belonging to the caste.
Chanel also knows how to pamper the "friends" of the house, those who are entitled to the parades: Stars of the show Biz (Diane Kruger, Vanessa Paradis), models (Cara Delevingne, HASnna Mouglalis) and journalistsessential (HASnna Wintour, Suzy Menkes).For these shows, these divas are entitled to all attentions.Makeup artists and hairdressers move in their hotel rooms, the dresses are loaned to them, often offered.HASnd they are crumbling under gifts (bags, perfumes, care, etc.).It's Christmas all year round!"Chanel Personalize his Entrennes and Karl is one of the few to always write a word," says one of them.Thus dubbed by the brand, journalists - more precisely called "influencer" - and stars can then handle the superlative and rave in their papers or on Instagram.Virginie Mouzat, fashion director of "Vanity Fair", described the latest Chanel parade as "Totally Legend Material" and the precedent of "Stunning and HASmazing".That much ?
The happy few are therefore entitled to tailor-made, but the general public is also courted.Of the.HAS.In Hong Kong, it is difficult to spend a day without crossing the double white C on a black background.Chanel thus invests in advertising, marketing and promotion between 800 million and 1 billion euros each year!Just in media purchase in France, she was in 2015 second advertiser behind Dior with 79 million euros.Pub spots are little jewelry. On se souvient d’HASudrey Tautou mise en scène par le cinéaste Jean-Pierre Jeunet dans l’Orient-Express.Or more recently of Cara Delevingne in Sissi dancing with Pharrell Williams under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld.Anxious to master the image 100%, the designer photographs all fashion campaigns himself.And whether on television or in the press (the radio is too popular), a Chanel advertisement will never be preceded or followed by an advertisement for the Fuca dragee or the Justin Bridou.Same topo in magazine fashion pages.A jacket or a chanel bag cannot be worn with a Zara or Uniqlo skirt, but only with a brand of the same standing."If we turn out to mix, we can lose the advertiser.Now Chanel began the high -end status of a magazine, "explains the advertising manager of a People title.
Even more crazy, the claw devotes fortunes to promotional events where ... nothing is for sale.In 2012, a photo exhibition on the little black jacket went around the world.Last year, another, baptized Mademoiselle Privé, illustrated the universe of Coco at the Saatchi Gallery in London.Or a budget of 5 million euros for two weeks of free exhibition.
HASlors, Chanel, de l’art ou du business ? Comme chez ses confrères de l’industrie du luxe, sa logique est toujours la même.Haute couture proves excellence, but does not bring back, despite prices varying from 20,000 euros for a simple day dress to more than 70,000 for an embroidered room in the.Sales are made elsewhere.On ready-to-wear and accessories.According to our information, they would represent 50% of turnover."Their sales have doubled since the 2008 crisis," says a former executive.Normal, thanks to its timeless style (the black jacket has almost become a basic of the elite in the same way as a bag), Chanel is an icon brand that reassures in time of time.Above all, Karl Lagerfeld skillfully maintains modernity by creating a few ultrapointed pieces: yellow lego bag, fuchsia leggings, etc..Made in very small numbers, they are offered in Rihanna and others to make the headlines, while the shops sell the same straight tailors to 6,300 euros and bags 2.55 black pads at 4,750 euros.
Perfumes and cosmetics are the other pillar of business.N ° 5 is the group's milk cow since its creation in 1921.Number 1 of sales worldwide for decades, its gross margin exceeds 85%.Yes but now, young people appreciate their wooded juice less, deemed too "dadame".And its declination in primary water did not work.According to our information, a great recovery is preparing for September.The new juice will aim at 15-30 year olds and will aspire the whole communication budget of the year.But even internal sales teams do not know more.Secret oblige.One thing is certain, it will follow the Chanel standing: heavy bottle, beautiful materials, double c embossed inside the plug.As with care or makeup, communication on the profits of the product will be very refined.Even non -existent."Here, we do not lower to speak reduction of wrinkles," we breathe internally.The care is left to the beauty advisers, totally dedicated to Chanel.
HASu niveau commercial, la marque impose sa loi.Every two years, Chanel sends investigators to Sephora, Nocibé or Galeries Lafayette.Their mission: to fill out "assessment sheets" in 30 questions, noted from 0 to 3.Everything is evaluated in the shop, until the quality of the ceiling or the presence of a fishmonger (deemed degrading for the image) nearby.And beware of non-compliance with instructions. HAS moins de 62 de note générale, Chanel boycotte le point de vente.She has thus deserted almost 200 in five years.Ditto among opticians (read the box P.62).Thanks to this draconian diet and its attraction force with ultrafidal consumers, the brand is also allowed to be radiance."They donate 10% back margin for us for 30% for other luxury brands," said a distributor, who takes revenge by spreading Chanel of the best locations at the entrance to the store.
Chanel's main capital, we understood, is his image.Its turnover could be much higher if it did not favor rarity.For example, the brand opened 11 shops in China against 40 for Louis Vuitton.She refuses to sell her perfumes on board planes. En 2015, elle a aussi voulu mettre fin au marché gris entre l’Europe et l’HASsie.Like the price difference, reinforced by the exchange effects, could exceed 60%, the "Daigou" (emissaries responsible for bringing cheaper bags) multiplied. Pour corriger le tir, Chanel a fait grimper ses prix de 20% en Europe et les a réduits d’autant en HASsie.An operation in this case carried out too brutally: in Shanghai, customers asked to be reimbursed after the bag they had just bought $ 5,100 had increased to 4,800.
Hopefully Chanel will manage Lagerfeld's succession better.The rumors of starting the maestro swell. HAS plus de 80 ans (le cachottier tait son âge précis), il serait un peu las.On the 31st, will Cambon rue Cambon survive his departure?Experts assure that yes, because the brand is more powerful than it.But this recruitment will be much more complicated than that of a simple intern.
>> Les méthodes musclées de Chanel avec les opticiens :
To sell the maximum of glasses, the brand, via its Luxottica licensee, requires each optician to order 180 pairs of Chanel per year, which represents, on average, 20% of its sales.Otherwise, she removes her products from him. HAS 250 euros la monture, les opticiens doivent avoir du bagout.
Les boutiques sont soumises au contrôle tatillon des émissaires de Chanel, qui évaluent le standing de chaque point de vente à partir d’une batterie de critères très pointus – nombre de lunettes alignées par rangée, localisation du magasin, entretien des sols, murs et plafonds… «HASucune marque n’est aussi stricte», déplore un opticien.
>> Le chat qui valait 3 millions :
King Karl has carte blanche to develop his own business.His last passion: her pussy, choupette.When he does not put with her in "Vogue", he uses his face to sell bags or makeup.The beast has its servant, accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even an official biography ... His master also opened a bank account for him.Because the beautiful earned 3 million euros for the only year 2014.However, there is no question of putting a chanel sweater from him."I don't dress animals, we're not at the circus," he said.
Sophie Lécluse