CHANEL in the FUTURE!!!

CHANEL will always be a classic and has always done extremely well as a corporation. There are many people who want to be able to afford these classic and sophisticated pieces but can't. The company will continue to well and continue to make masterpieces. I read an article however that discussed how the future of the couture pieces by CHANEL will soon die especially in the foreign markets, but then the article kinda contradiction itself because it begins talking about how CHANEL has secured the couture market in Paris. I believe that CHANEL has lasted entirely to long for it to go away and I believe it will continue to do well and continue to create couture as well as ready to wear collections.


PARIS-- Veteran designer Karl Lagerfeld on Tuesday defied predictions that Paris haute couture will soon die out with a display of feather-light gowns for Chanel destined to lure a new generation of clients. Slim sequined gowns in metallic pink, burnished gold and gray shimmered under gray Paris skies, while cloudlike skirts of see-through tulle wafted across a giant carpet emblazoned with the house's double-C logo.
The number of houses that produce made-to-measure haute couture has dwindled dramatically in recent years. But Chanel has proved its commitment to preserving French know-how by buying up the embroiderers, featherers and shoemakers who supply it.
Lagerfeld, 68, made clear, however, that it was not his mission to rescue the sector.
"My future is Chanel, the future of the other couture houses I don't really know," the German designer said after the show. "I only care what I'm doing. I'm not there to save the corporations. It's up to them to make an effort to save it."
Fans of the legendary house were given a peek behind the scenes of the recent documentary which shows seamstresses toiling for weeks to make Lagerfeld's sketches come to life.
Among the featured artisans was Raymonde Pouzieux, an eccentric old farmer who makes braids for Chanel's tweed suits on an ancient loom on her farm, surrounded by horses and hay.
This season, Lagerfeld drew inspiration from '60s icon Edie Sedgwick and dispensed with skirts entirely, simply pairing his iconic tweed jackets with shiny black tights and two-tone shoes.
Eveningwear was as glamorous as it comes, with slim bodices made from tubes of organza that sprouted ostrich feathers at the sleeves and hem. Accessories included fingerless feather gloves and multiple rows of hoop earrings.
"This collection was ageless," said U.S. Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley. "It's for the 16-year-old girl, the woman who has a daughter who needs her first Chanel couture, and it's for the 60-year-old woman who is an executive who needs a beautiful tweed suit."
Chanel's star-studded front row proved its cross-generational appeal. Guests included Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, a longtime Chanel client.
Meanwhile, stars including Kate Bosworth and Victoria Beckham mingled with musicians Marianne Faithfull and Sean Lennon.
Lennon said it was his first time at the couture shows.
"I like beautifully constructed things. It's the same with anything, it's like music and clothes are the same, you just make beautiful things," he told The Associated Press.
The son of the late John Lennon is no stranger to the fashion scene. He revealed that he has been busy writing songs with supermodel Irina Lazareanu, a recent Lagerfeld muse. To read more go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012300705.html

The future of Balenciaga

The future of Balenciaga is bright. There many things that are developing to help the brand succeed such as a lower price point for their merchandise. The problem is that with the economy being in a recession it is hard for people to look at the luxury market and see that is still growing and doing well. Balenciaga as a whole is looking better because of the new designs that they are coming out with. The Balenciaga leather bags will always be a classic for the company and something that sales well for them. Below is an article that I found that talks about how the company has been revived and how it is now doing well.

"Nicolas Ghesquiere, just 34 years old, has been called "the boy genius who revived a legend." The legend, of course, is the house of Balenciaga, perhaps the most revered name in fashion. Diana Vreeland, fashion editor with Harper's Bazaar from 1937 (the year Cristobal Balenciaga founded his couture house) to 1962, once described Balenciaga as "the greatest dressmaker who ever lived. If a woman came in in a Balenciaga dress, no other woman in the room existed." Vreeland's statement could also apply to Balenciaga's current designer, whose fall collection drew raves from the fickle fashion press, even a "perfect 10" from one particularly discerning critic. "

There is also a link that I listed that is an interview with Nicolas Ghesquiere that talks about the future of the brand and whats next for them.

http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/main/2005/11/tk_fashion_nico.html

Balenciaga Going Green??

One of the current things that Balenciaga could do is take the old leather Balenciaga bag and have them recycled into new leather pieces such as a bracelet, headband, or another bag. What would happen is the customer would bring in their old bag and then there would be a checklist of things that could be made out of that size bag and you would mark the things that you want. It would have a small fee, but it would help things to be recycled and the customer to feel like they were getting new items. Another thing that they can do is to design a recyclable bag to place items in that are purchased and then if they bring that bag in every Monday they receive 10% off their purchase. The company could also go green in all of the store and in the House of Balenciaga. They could basically have all of the buildings restructured with green light bulbs and cleaning supplies as well as making sure all of the tools and things that they use are green and can be recycled.

Chanel going GREEN

The ways that Chanel is choosing to go green is to implement a system where for every dollar that you spend at the CHANEL brand then they will send half of the proceeds to help feed the children in foreign countries. This makes customers feel like they are contributing to a good cause as well as purchasing goods that they like and enjoy buying. Another great thing that the company can do to help the environment is to create all garments that can be turned back into the company to be recycled. This would help people to feel that instead of throwing there clothes away they could just take them back to the store to be recycled and then Chanel could offer them a discount or even a gift card for doing this. The garments that could be receycled would have a green CHANEL logo on the inside of each garment. Another thing is to use all green friendly products in there store such as cleaning supplies and light bulbs. Some customers might notice this, but at the same time it is more just to help the environment.

Social Issues

I really didn't find any social issues with either company. I looked and there were some issues with Peta getting mad a few times at both companies for the leathers and furs that were used, but that's really it. For the most part the main complaint about both brands is that they are expensive, but then again they are a luxury brand and are suppose to carry higher priced goods. I also found that Chanel came our with a recyclable bag to allow their customers to feel like they were helping the environment.

I have seen some companies start to use faux fur and leather to help from getting a bad rep from Peta. Then there are other companies who feel like Peta doesn't have a huge impact on their company and they continue to wear and make the garments with real furs and leathers.

Balenciaga Fiancials

From the research that I could find the Balenciaga financials are under Jacques Bogart SA. He is currntly the owner of the Balanciaga empire and from the financial reports that I found the company is overall doing pretty well. Back, in 1987 the company closed down for a few years and then opened again under a new designer a few years later. The problem with looking at the Bogart financials are that there are a few different companies under that particular name. So its hard to see what finanal statements come from which company. The price per share of the Bogart company is 110.00 Which is a little high compared to some of the other companies that I looked at. The company for the most part has done pretty well and hopefully will continue to do so.

Private Financials

Well, I have been trying to find some financials for CHANEL and from what I can find their financials are private, but I did find some interesting facts that I thought were somewhat relevant. The company currently has 1,264 employees that they pay to work for them and some where around 90 interns throughout the world. Last year they sold 1,433 million dollars in sales. I also read that for the past few years they have actually projected sales low to insure that they would meet there annual goal for the year and even with doing that they didn't meet their sales goal for last year.