Chanel watches make world's 1st online debut in Korea

Chanel watches have made their online debut through South Korea's leading platform SSG.COM, becoming the French brand’s first launch of fashion and accessory items available online.

On Monday at 10 a.m. local time, a banner ad for Chanel’s collection of dazzling watches appeared on SSG.COM’s mobile app, showcasing its seven timepieces for sale at the online mall.

The Chanel Interstellar Capsule Collection, recently released, will be offered online through SSG.COM, a unit of Shinsegae Inc. The watches' prices range from 11,000,000 to 37,000,000 won ($8,400-$28,000). 

Even after the special exhibition for the Chanel watches ends on April 30, SSG.COM will continue to sell them. They then are expected to expand their collaboration to jewelry from next month. They are understood to be in discussions in that regard.

The move may signal a reversal of the luxury brand’s offline-only sales strategy for clothes, handbags and jewelry. Its beauty products, less expensive than the brand's fashion items, have already been available online.

The online launch of Chanel watches came as a surprise because it wasn't promoted nor marketed in advance. 

The seven models of the Capsule Collection are J12 Cybernetic; Boy.Friend Cyberdata; J12 Interstellar; Code Coco Cybergold; J12 Cosmic; Premiere Robot; and Premiere Lucky Star.

Some of them are embellished with gold and diamonds.

These items are not even for sale on Chanel's website, which only provides the location information of its boutique shops and detailed descriptions of its products. 

This is in contrast to many other luxury brands such as Christian Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and Hermes, which have adapted to digital trends amid the rise of online retailers since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

Some of them sell their accessories and handbags through online malls such as Amazon.com. 

However, big brands' online launches sometimes led to clashes with e-commerce giants as was the case between Nike Inc. and Amazon in 2019. Nike at one point announced it would not sell its products through Amazon.

High-end brands are now working to sell their main items directly from their own websites to fend off competition from online platforms.

LVMH and Hermes run their own exclusive online stores.

THE TRY-ON EXPERIENCE

Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s president of fashion, has dismissed the e-commerce trend of its luxury peers. 

He had said in interviews that Chanel's clothes and handbags are viewed and experienced best in stores, where customers can try them on. 

Against this backdrop, Chanel’s surprise online launch of watches in South Korea may not indicate an about-turn of the brand's offline-focused strategy.

PICK UP AT OFFLINE STORE 

Online buyers of Chanel watches must pick them up at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam in the posh district of Seoul. 

That means the French brand did not completely abandon its offline-focused sales strategy.

For SSG.COM, Chanel's choice of the retailer as its first digital platform to sell watches could underpin its parent group’s efforts to attract luxury brands to both its online and offline stores.  

In 2021, SSG.COM became the country’s first online mall to host luxury watch brands: Piaget and Panerai. 

The following year, it launched a luxury brands-specialized shop within its platform in collaboration with Shinsegae. 

South Korea is the world’s 10th largest market for luxury spending, exceeding that of the US and China. 

South Korean shoppers spent an average of $325 on luxury items last year, compared to $280 by Americans and $50 by Chinese, according to Morgan Stanley. 

(Correction: The seven watches of the Chanel Interstellar Capsule Collection will remain available on SSG.COM after the special exhibition ends on April 30.)

Write to Young-Chan Song at 0full@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.