French luxury house Chanel is set to start work on extending the famous Rue Cambon store for a 2016 opening, while two new temporary boutiques on the rue St Honoré serve the brand’s growing fanbase. Rue Cambon is an iconic location in the history of the Chanel brand. The site of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s first independent store ‘Chanel Modes’ opened a century ago in 1913 and was financed by her lover Arthur Boy Chapel.
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The brand’s rue Cambon premises are set to be expanded and the extension to the store will take it almost to the corner of Rue St Honoré.
According to Chanel president, the location combines “two of the most prestigious shopping streets in Paris, if not the world, which explains the high traffic and our need for expansion in order to offer the best shopping experience to our clients.”
Chanel sees huge numbers of customers arrive in Paris from around the world, especially from Asia. According to a recent Bloomberg report, nearly a third of Chinese luxury shoppers will buy their goods in Europe in 2013.
To meet this rising demand, on March 4, at the tail end of Paris fashion week, Chanel will open two temporary stores on Rue St Honoré (taking over spaces vacated by minaPoe and Carlos Miele) to house accessories, shoes and beauty.
Chanel previously expanded the Rue Cambon store in 2003, and added 3,400 square feet (315 sq m) of retail space. The work on the Rue Cambon space is expected to start in 2014 and will take up to two years to complete.