Chanel SA (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) has opened its third store in Las Vegas.
According to Women’s Wear Daily, the store is at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, near its boutique in the neighboring Wynn Las Vegas. (The third Chanel store in Las Vegas is in the Bellagio.)
The 2400-square-foot store features 900 square feet for fine jewelry, with 1500 square feet for fashion apparel. It was designed by New York architect Peter Marino. As reported in WWD, the store’s design borrows elements of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s legendary Paris apartment, including the jewelry boutique’s salon, library and VIP room. The facade is glazed with woven gold metal and interior materials are in soft beige and gold, with gold travertine floors, custom bronze jewelry display case, gold hand-textured plaster panels and 180-inch antique screens that stand beside a large quartz-encrusted mirror.
The center of the ceiling rises to 15 feet and frames a custom Goosens chandelier. The new store also houses a private VIP salon with custom silk-lined walls and hand-stitched detailing in traditional Chanel tweed.
The move comes even as Las Vegas has been hit by the troubled economy, seeing a decline in casino revenues and tourism. The $11 billion CityCenter development is delaying construction of one of its hotels and is scaling back on residential units.
Chanel executives told WWD they have no plans to close any units, but 2009 sales expectations across all company stores have been revised downward. The fashion house expects the Encore store to be carried by overseas clientele. “Obviously everyone is challenged in retail right now, traffic is down, travel is down and tourism is suffering, but Las Vegas still has appeal, particularly for international customers,” said Barbara Cirkva, division president of fashion, fine jewelry and watches at Chanel. “We took a very specific, ultraluxury point of view in the Encore store and don’t think we will see much cannibalization between Wynn and Encore.”
“We’re looking at all of what’s happening in business and retail right now as a phase,” Cirkva told WWD. “I hope we will come out of it stronger than before.”