A long queue in front of a Chanel boutique at Plaza 66 on Nanjing Road West on March 19, 2015. The French luxury giant has said it plans to hike prices in Europe and cut them in Asia to counter the decline of the euro and discourage customers from buying fakes. (People’s Daily Online/ Gong Sha)

Chanel recently announced that it would be harmonizing its global pricing following the 24% decline of the euro against the dollar over the last 12 months. China is one of the first countries to benefit from the dramatic price drops.

Chanel's price cuts in China have led to a frenzied reaction from fans and customers, who hit the French luxury brand's stores in the country immediately following the news, leading to some extra long queues.

On March 19, a Chanel store in the commercial hub of Nanjing West Road in Shanghai was crowded with shoppers. People in the queue were mostly women of all ages, plus a few men.

“I'm here queuing for my boss!” said a young woman. Most of the customers had heard the information on social media and come to the shop to check it out. Others joined in when they saw the huge queue. “I can put up with the queue just by thinking about all the money I can save!” said one woman.

Some people in the queue had misunderstod the price cut. They thought that Chanel was planning to raise prices from April 8. “Buying the bag now is an investment for the future,” was their misguided perspective.

In fact, Chanel's statement indicated that the price shift: "is a measure to reduce price differentials across countries, which have widened considerably, further to the recent depreciation of the euro". The statement went on to explain that Chanel has decided to harmonize the prices of three of its bags on a worldwide level as of April 8.

One lady told People's Daily Online that she used to buy bags herself in Europe, or from her friends who fly overseas. “I can save a lot of the cost of my flight, and the quality of the bag is guaranteed.”

A few questions from the People’s Daily Online reporter demonstrated that most of customers did not know the specific extent of the price cut. “I saw the news on a Wechat friends circle. It turns out to be true. Buying now is earning money!” said one customer.

Chanel’s Le Boy handbag is sold at a price of €3,720 (about 24,617 yuan) in Europe, about 20% up from the previous price. However, in China the same bag is sold at 26,000 yuan. The price on the mainland for the 11.12 handbag is currently 30,000 yuan. In Europe the price rises to €4,260 (about 28190 yuan) but still a little bit lower than the price in China’s mainland. The gap between prices in China and Europe is narrowing from about 60 percent to around 6 percent.

Edited and translated from Chinese version of 《奢侈品大降价！员工帮老板排队也是蛮拼的》， source: People’s Daily Online Shanghai