Chanel stops wealthy Russians from buying their products in stores around the world
One of the world’s most iconic fashion labels has wealthy Russians up in arms after refusing them their products in stores around the world.
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Russian influencers have taken to social media to slam luxury brand Chanel for stopping them from buying their products.
The iconic brand announced in March it was temporarily discontinuing business in Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
That’s prompted wealthy Russians to flock to stores overseas for their favourite Chanel accessories. But, shocked socialites say they can’t even buy Chanel in other countries because they are Russian.
Russian influencer Liza Litvin said she was refused a Chanel bag at a Dubai mall.
“I went to a Chanel boutique in the Mall of the Emirates. They didn’t sell me the bag because (attention!) I am from Russia!!!” she posted on Instagram.
She added Chanel “has a new order that they only sell after I sign a piece of paper saying that I won’t wear this bag in Russia”.
“What?!”, she expressed on the social media post.
Ms Litvin, an interior designer, said she was asked for ID details and she gave her Russian phone number.
“Next, the manager said that starting from today they were selling to Russians only if they sign an agreement not to wear their items in Russia,” she said.
Anna Kalashnikova, 37, a singer and TV fashion show presenter said was refused from buying Chanel earrings and a bag in Dubai.
She said the manager told her: “We know you are a Russian celebrity. We know you’ll be taking purchases to Russia, so we can’t sell our brand’s items.”
She vowed to boycott Chanel.
Influencer Yana Rudkoskaya, a music show producer and wife of Olympic figure skating champion Alexander Plyushenko, said she was in “shock” after being barred from a Chanel store.
“This is a shock for a woman who’s been buying Chanel and Chanel Haute Couture for more than 20 years, and who sat at its shows in the front row,” she said.
She added the ban was “somewhat humiliating” considering she has spent more than one million euro at Chanel over the years.
Others reportedly complained of being refused Chanel products in stores in Paris and Italy.
In a post on Telegram, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out “during the Second World War, Coco Chanel herself was a collaborator and agent of the Third Reich”.
She accused Chanel of running a Russophobic campaign” to “cancel Russia“.
Some wealthy Russians say they have found a workaround.
Snezhanna Georgieva, 46, wife of billionaire winemaker Artem Zuev, said she was aware of “some boutiques that are still open when a regular customer calls them.”
Chanel reportedly applied the restriction because of EU and Swiss sanctions on luxury items.
“The latest sanctions restrictions of the European Union and Switzerland prohibit ‘the sale, directly or indirectly, of luxury items to any natural, legal person or entity in the Russian Federation or for use in the Russian Federation”, Chanel’s French HQ said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
Originally published as Chanel stops wealthy Russians from buying their products in stores around the world
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