Chanel, Primark Don’t Sell Fashion Online – for Different Reasons: One to Remain an Exclusive Brand and the Other Because It’s Not Worth It

Yet Primark’s customer base is still very strong, as evidenced by the enormous queues in front of many of its 153 British stores in April 2021 when non-essential retailers were allowed to reopen.

Fashion in 2021: Dior or Chanel, and will Chinese be in Paris?

The policy of the two brands is particularly notable in a post-pandemic world where customer behaviour has fundamentally changed. According to consulting firm McKinsey, even those of us who rarely shopped online for clothes before 2020 now make 80 per cent of our fashion purchases at home.

“The switch towards digital is here to stay, and right now online is driving all the growth in the fashion sector,” says Anita Balchandani, a partner at McKinsey specialising in luxury fashion.

“Customers today start their journey online, so brands that have no e-commerce risk losing them to another competitor, particularly since 40 per cent of fashion is bought online. Yes, the pandemic has been a difficult time to not have a website, but post-pandemic, retaining and acquiring customers will be the main reason to invest in one.”

“You have to remember that behind the scenes, the operational cost of fulfilling online orders is high,” says Balchandani. “This is particularly true in categories where items are low-value – it is very difficult to make an order under £30 stack up when consumer willingness to pay for delivery is low and returns are free.”

Luca Solca, a senior research analyst on global luxury goods for research and management company Bernstein, agrees – and adds: “I guess Primark has a small average basket and gigantic volumes, and I think online would produce very high fulfilment costs – hence their choice.”

For Chanel, meanwhile, the decision-making process couldn’t be more different. By refusing to participate in the online market, it is putting forward the idea that the brand is not part of the pack, and that it’s not competing for sales – instead, it’s offering something exclusive and rare that the customer has to make an effort to acquire.

The idea that aesthetically Primark and Chanel are in any way similar is laughable, but one thing both brands do have in common is that they offer something unique: Chanel because of its iconic branding and its position as arguably the most famous luxury house in the world; Primark because it pioneered ultra-cheap fashion and is one of few brands at that price point that caters to families and older adults.

As a result, customers are prepared to leave the house to seek out their goods.

Both brands’ determination to stick to this policy has been notable. Primark ignored numerous calls to create an e-commerce site over the last year. And when the Parisian department store Galeries Lafayette was closed during France’s long winter lockdown, it launched live shopping sessions with leading luxury brands including Dior, Prada and Celine. Chanel fashion chose not to participate – although Chanel Beauty did.

Chanel has fared far better than Primark over the past year of lockdowns, posting healthy returns in its June results. And yet – according to Solca anyway – it is Chanel that is more likely to crack and develop an online presence first.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Primark stayed as they are, but ​​I think Chanel will eventually realise that online is now indispensable for luxury goods brands, and adjust accordingly,” he says.

In the end, Chanel provides a luxury service – and in 2021, the most luxurious way of shopping might not be wafting into a boutique on the rue Saint-Honoré, but clicking “buy” from the sofa with a glass of wine in one hand and the television remote in the other.