Like a body bag

It’s a modern way of opening the bag," Olivier Arzel, managing director for Lancel Asia Pacific, says about the unique feature in the latest collection of Lancel handbags and shoulder bags. The bag does not have a zipper or any of the other traditional clasps or openings. Rather, "it has a metallic rib," regional sales executive Romain le Chevallier, explains. "You push it, like an elastic, to open. It was launched a year ago. The style of the bag has changed, even the material and design, but we have kept the same idea."

"The bag follows the shape of the body," Olivier elaborates. "Some, you can put under the arm, others, on the hip." Romain adds, "It’s like a body bag. It fits your body so you don’t feel the bag when you’re carrying it."

Lancel, "one of the world’s premier upscale leather crafters" which "skillfully blends classical design with creative boldness in its exquisite line of affordable leather goods," presented its autumn-winter collection recently at a press lunch at the Rockwell Club in Makati. "You will realize that it’s more than a new collection," Romain explains. "It’s a new generation of new lines, new shapes, and explosions of new colors."

The autumn-winter collection features very bright colors, including red, which is the Lancel corporate color. "The bags come in different sizes – big, small medium – and new extended shapes – high, wide, elongated," Olivier points out. What sets Lancel bags apart is the high quality of its workmanship. "All our top brands are done with top quality leather which is supple, nice to touch, smooth, durable and strong," Olivier remarks. "All our leather bags are done in Italy and France. We have our own factories and we have very strict quality control."

"You cannot survive 125 years if you are not good," Olivier points out. The husband-and-wife team of Alphonse and Angela Lancel started the business with their first smoking accessories boutique in Paris in 1876. While their first clients were mostly men, eventually, they also attracted women. It was their son, Albert Lancel, who inherited the business, and developed the women’s fashion accessories and gift items. In 1902, a new kind of ladies’ accessory made its appearance: the handbag.

Today, the Lancel brand is ranked among the top brands not only in France but worldwide. In a spontaneous survey that was conducted in Paris last year, to the question "which, according to you, is the most famous brand for small leather goods?" the top answer was Lancel. Small leather goods include wallets, purses, key holders, check holders, passport holders, credit card holders, and belts, Romain explains. And to the question "which for you is the most famous brand in terms of handbag?" Lancel was ranked as one of the top two.

In the Philippines since 1995, the Lancel stores are located at the Glorietta, Robinsons, and EDSA Shangri-La malls. "We also have corners at the NAIA Duty Free, which is newly renovated, and Fiesta Mall at the domestic airport," franchise owner Cel Formoso adds. The boutique at the Shangri-La mall is also undergoing renovation. "We will do it within one year," says Olivier. "People in Manila will need to see our new image."

"The autumn-winter collection is the first sign of the Lancel rejuvenation," Romain interjects. "Moreover, from two collections, we will have four collections." Romain adds, "We are the first brand to start the production of leather handbags with collections. It started in the 1950s, as a marketing strategy."

"The autumn-winter collection is characterized by segmentation," Romain explains, "meaning, one bag for one use. You can have one bag because you want to be casual, one bag for work, to be smart, or to go to a party. The bags have more specific uses, in terms of design, shape, size and color."

"We have also been successful in designs using combinations of materials," Olivier points out, "some tweed, some pied de poule or literally, chicken feet which is what the design looks like. There is also the design which features the saddle stitch, and another design which features the outside pouch, known as the ‘Kangaroo’ bag."

Traditionally, the Lancel brand appealed to an older market, 30 years old and above. But, Olivier says, "We want the young people to also be interested in our bags." Romain, who himself belongs to the below 30 age group, adds, "Lancel is not the old brand that it used to be. Our market is people who are used to traveling (incidentally, Lancel in France is famous for luggage), who have very active lifestyles. I want to propose to them specific products for specific uses."

"The Philippine market is a small market by itself," Olivier observes, "but it’s an important market because people here are very conscious of fashion. They’ve got very developed taste. They’re not show-offs. They’re not too much of followers but they know what they like, and when they buy something, they like to keep it for a while. In this way, they are a bit like the French. They like to have a good product for the money they spend."

"I don’t trust anybody who tells me that there is no money in Manila," Romain says with a smile, "because I can see for myself. One year and a half ago, when I first came, this (referring to the Rockwell Center), was still under construction. Now, I see people living here. You have so many shops inside. I am really impressed. This is a whole new area. There is business here." And with the surprising insight of someone who truly understands his market, Romain adds, as if to answer a question that was not asked about people leaving the country, "People have their family here and they will always come back to the Philippines because the notion of family is very important here. That’s why I am strong in our position. We can make the market grow," he says with much optimism.

"Your handbag is very important because it’s the day to day companion of a woman," Olivier remarks. "It has to fit what you expect your handbag to be. It has to be cute but useful. And people like to go to Lancel because they know they can find what they want."