Jewelers woo the super-rich

Luxury brands are doubling down in a strategic shift to the biggest spenders.

PARIS — After a year of exceptional growth at Chanel, the company's global chief financial officer, Philippe Blondiaux, said in a recent interview with a news site, the Business of Fashion, that Chanel would open an unknown number of V.I.P. exclusive. stores in Asia next year to complement its existing global network of 250 stores.

Some have wondered, in a year of price hikes and buying quotas on accessories, how the brand was going to carry out this plan, how much it would cost to qualify as a V.I.P., and even who would be rich enough to shop at Chanel.

"What does it mean in terms of quality, availability, customer service if they have shops only available to super-special, elite, V.I.P. customers?" asked London-based influencer Romina Rose May in a recent YouTube post.

Yet the news is a sure sign of the luxury industry's rapid recovery from the pandemic shutdowns which, despite continued challenges of supply chain and economic difficulties aggravated by the war in Ukraine, prompted Some brands have made a strategic shift towards very big spenders.

Analysts at global consultancy Bain & Company said the luxury industry has returned strength in the first quarter of this year, with sales in the personal luxury goods market expected to reach at least 305 billion euros, around 322 billion dollars, by the end of 2022, from 283 billion euros in 2021 and €281 billion in 2019.

Luxury sales are driven by big spenders, and wealth is concentrated among more than 2,660 global billionaires , worth a collective $12.7 trillion, according to Forbes, with the United States home to the most billion aires and China coming second.

At Chanel, revenue in 2021 jumped 50% year-on-year to $15 billion, a up 23% from 2019 levels. Its watches and jewelry division saw double-digit growth in 2021, which happened to be the 100th anniversary of Chanel's No. 5 fragrance. As a tribute, the house has designed a high jewelry collection with a necklace set with a D-flawless diamond, cut from a single 55.55-carat stone in the shape and proportions of the perfume bottle stopper.

"We are very happy and satisfied with our growth, business is extremely good," wrote Frédéric Grangié, president of Chanel watches and fine jewelry, in an e-mail. mail. Fine jewelry, he says, “is extremely dynamic, fine jewelry is booming, and watchmaking and fine watchmaking are also experiencing strong growth. I am confident in the post-pandemic recovery."

This very spring, Chanel reopened its watch and jeweler flagship on Place Vendôme in Paris, transformed into a contemporary setting with the sensation of an elegant, art-filled home. Guests will find the full range of Chanel jewelry and watches inside, but only a lucky few will be invited downstairs into what Mr. Grangié described as a "secret space dedicated heritage" where rare archives and singular objects linked to the history of Chanel are kept.

"It is a unique tool to offer to some of our customers specific,” Mr. Grangié wrote.

He declined to comment on the dedicated V.I.P. stores in Asia or other plans for treating top customers.Picture