Chanel has
opened its first stand alone beauty store in Tokyo. Plans for the store were made long before the global recession hit, and the company is aware that the store will most likely have a slow start. But the company is looking to the future and hopes to build brand loyalty over time.
The 1,506-square-foot store, designed by Peter Marino, features interiors in Chanel's signature hues of white, black and beige; plenty of mirrors, and tweed upholstered chairs.
Located on the ground floor of a new shopping and entertainment complex in the trendy Aoyama district, the Chanel store carries the French brand's full range of fragrance, cosmetics and skin care items. The same building, featuring a stunning asymmetrical glass tower, also houses other beauty tenants, including Bobbi Brown and RMK.
Richard Collasse, president of Chanel Japan, said the all-beauty retail concept should broaden the brand's reach, especially to aspirational luxury consumers. Although he’s frank when talking about the depressed state of the prestige beauty market in recessionary Japan, he said it’s the perfect time to launch a new concept.
"It's not a business decision," he chuckled. "Because if it were a business decision, we would not open." Although the executive declined to discuss financial details, he allowed that this is an expensive project in terms of rent, design and logistics.
"You want to tell the consumer, 'Look, we understand that you are not coming, but don’t forget that this is what we are,'" he said, describing Chanel as "the ultimate house of luxury."
To that end, Chanel isn't resorting to discounts or freebies to drum up business — even in extremely tough times. "I know that if I were doing gift-with-purchase....I would have 10,000 people waiting, but that's not how we want to be perceived as a brand."
Alas, it sounds like Chanel won't be instituting discounts or gift with purchase promotions anytime soon. They certainly would be popular. As for the fabulous-looking freestanding ode to Chanel beauty, there are no plans to replicate the store in any other countries.
