Chanel raises prices in Korea to 'ensure fairness'

While consumer prices inched up 3% from 2019 to 2021, signature Chanel bag spiked 84%

A Chanel outlet is located in Lotte Department Store's Avenuel in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. (123rf)

Chanel raised the prices of its handbag, jewelry and clothing products in Korea by 5 to 12 percent on Wednesday, citing global price equity as the primary reason. This is the company’s fourth price hike this year.

As per the price increase, the price of Chanel’s Mini Flap Bag rose by 7 percent, from 5.94 million won to 6.37 million won ($4,190 to $4,490), while the price of Chanel’s Classic Large Flap Bag rose by 6 percent, from 13.35 million won to 14.2 million won.

Chanel’s accessories saw a 7 to 8 percent price increase, with the prices of its Classic Wallet on Chain rising by 8.3 percent from 3.99 million won to 4.32 million won.

The recent price increase meant that products such as the Classic Flap Bag Medium saw a whopping 84 percent increase in price since 2019. Consumer prices inched up by just 3.01 percent from 2019 to 2021, according to Statistics Korea. Chanel also recently hiked prices in January, March and August.

“We have introduced the raise in our stores starting today as per the worldwide company price policy, inaugurated in 2015,” said a Chanel official. “It was to ensure fairness between customers around the globe and to reduce price differences between regions.”

However, prices in Korea appeared to be slightly higher than elsewhere, with Chanel's Mini Flap Bag costing $4,490 here with the new raise, while prices were as low as $4,200 in the US, and $4,000 in the UK, according to suggested retail prices on Chanel's official website.

Meanwhile, Chanel is not the only luxury brand to have recently raised prices. Luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton and Fendi have been raising prices here in the second half of 2022, attributing its raise to increasing prices of raw materials and rising exchange rates.

Louis Vuitton announced in October a sudden increase in its prices by 3 percent, while Fendi and Hermes also announced 6 percent and 4 percent price increases, respectively. Louis Vuitton's announcement was its second price hike of 2022, while Fendi's hike came only two months after its last price increase in August.

By Lee Seung-ku(seungku99@heraldcorp.com)