CHANEL bets on the us market with reopened boutique in Las Vegas

CHANEL has reopened its boutique within the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Friday following a major redesign. Designed in partnership with Peter Marino the 4,778-square-foot, single-level boutique draws inspiration from the city of Las Vegas, combined with the refined atmosphere of Gabrielle Chanel’s own apartment at 31 rue Cambon in Paris, which was the centerpiece in the Maison's lates haute couture collection showcased to Kirsten DUNST, and other American actresses earlier the same week in Paris.

Chanel first opened its boutique at the Bellagio in 1998. Rebekah McCabe, Chanel’s general manager of fashion described Vegas as a global destination for business and leisure and hub for top clients, both local and domestic. Last year, Las Vegas attracted 41.7 million visitors overall, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Research Center. Chanel has three boutiques in Las Vegas at The Shops at Crystals, The Wynn Las Vegas, and the Bellagio Resort, which has the largest Chanel store in Vegas in terms of front-of-house square footage.

“What is unique to the Las Vegas market is that we have these three distinct boutiques that service their own unique client base and have a different experience within the Las Vegas market,” said McCabe. “To be able to create these unique environments within the city that enable our clients — both new and existing — to experience Chanel and continue in elevated ways is always a key strategy for us.” Turning to Chanel’s current business in the U.S., McCabe said, “Business is good in America. We’ve seen that the American shopper has been quite resilient.” She said they are drawn to new shapes, novelties and leatherwear.

The renovated space at the Bellagio features three ready-to-wear try-on rooms compared to the prior two, a ready-to-wear room that can be privatized for clients, a dedicated area for textiles including two walls for eyeglasses (compared to one eyewear wall previously), an expanded shoe salon, and dedicated areas for watches and fine jewelry, and fragrance and beauty.

In describing Chanel’s Vegas customer, McCabe said, “They [the customers] have a large propensity to travel — they have multiple homes within the U.S., and we are seeing an increased rise in clients who are making Las Vegas their primary residence.” She added that they previously saw Vegas as having a smaller local and largely tourist customer. “Now we’re seeing this beautiful local client develop there, that we’re really excited to build a relationship with within the city,” she said.

The contrasting display echoes the qualities of the fashion textiles used by the house. The layout encompasses a total of seven individual salons. Marino designed custom hand-woven carpets and textured upholstery fabrics for the space.
Upon entering, clients are first welcomed into two areas for leather goods and accessories, followed by two distinct spaces for fragrance and beauty and watches and fine jewelry. There is a dedicated shoe salon featuring a pair of Liane Chandeliers made of 24-karat gold and decorated with hand-cut rock crystals by goldsmith Goossens.
In the back of the boutique, two connecting ready-to-wear salons are decorated with custom furniture. The first contains an Ingrid Donat coffee table with a pair of Venini crystal vases designed by Marino, decoratively placed on top. Two Rene Cresson Louis XV Style armchairs are positioned around the table with a Goossens “Zen” table lamp placed on the console behind the custom upholstered sofa.
With an ivory textured plaster wall finish, the second and final salon showcases a custom André Dubreuil coffee table as well as a round Thierry Leproust side table between two armchairs. Marino selected a mix of artwork to display inside the boutique, with most placed within the three exclusive fitting rooms.
The first fitting room features an oil and enamel canvas by Robert Donatelli, an Italian postwar and contemporary artist. In the vestibule outside the second fitting room, there is a Robert Mapplethorpe frame gelatin silver print. Inside, guests will find a black oil on white linen abstract painting by German artist Chris Succo. Next door, in the third fitting room, is a gold resin and acrylic canvas by Gianfranco Zappettini, an Italian abstract painter.
In the watches and fine jewelry salon, a gold modeling paste canvas by Florian and Michael Quistrebert is mounted in a prominent spot behind a desk and three custom upholstered chairs with gold hand embroidery to match.
Within the watches and fine jewelry salon, a custom crackle lacquer wall mirrors the Coromandel screens in Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment. Featured are a selection of the Coco Crush, No. 5 and Camelia fine jewelry collections. The salon also offers pieces from the Ruban and Comète collections, as well as a range of timepieces including the J12 in black and white high-resistance ceramic, and designs from the Premiere collection.
In addition, there is a dedicated area that features the full range of Chanel fragrance, makeup and skin care products. Last month Chanel was the first luxury fragrance brand to take to Sphere, the Las Vegas landmark that opened in 2023, as reported. The week-long activation was comprised of a 90-second spot, which aired multiple times daily, for a limited-edition incarnation of No.5 L’Eau.

“The benefit of Vegas is you’re always inspired by the energy of the city. I think that generally it’s a really nice time to purchase something that reminds you of that visit, or encapsulates the energy of the city,” said McCabe. McCabe expects a “high penetration in ultra-luxe items” to be bestsellers. “There’s also a strong emphasis on novelty. We see novelty being a growing category in our leather goods, and in neutral colors, balanced with a few icon investments to provide options for every client,” said McCabe.
She acknowledged that business in Vegas never slows down. “With so many great performances and Sphere, there are so many cultural opportunities. And there’s all the energy that came to Vegas around Formula 1. They’re doing such an exceptional job bringing so much energy to Vegas,” she said. She added that they’re very happy with the performance of all their boutiques in Vegas.

Chanel currently has 23 freestanding boutiques in the U.S. Last month, the brand unveiled a salon at The Hedges Inn in East Hampton, N.Y., that will be open for private appointments until July 28. Chanel will also be opening a new seasonal boutique in Montecito, Calif., this fall.
McCabe said they always try to create local client engagement moments with their VICs (Very Important Clients) in the market, and Vegas is no exception. “We think that continues to reinforce our relationship with our top clients. We look to expanding that and learning about new locals through this boutique,” she said.
(first published on cpp-luxury)