Chanel is "significantly outperforming the market," with almost all of its 250 boutiques selling more product and more ready-to-wear one year into Matthieu Blazy's tenure as creative director, president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky told WWD.

"Chanel is reenergized," Pavlovsky said. "There's a wonderful energy both inside the house and among our clients. People are picking up on that positive momentum, which we had perhaps lost a little before Matthieu's arrival."

Pavlovsky declined to comment on leaked first-half figures indicating comparable revenue rose 16 percent in the first six months of the year. But he confirmed the house leads the pack, and Chanel has topped the Lyst rankings of the world's hottest brands for the last two quarters.

"The numbers are good. Almost all our boutiques are selling more product, more ready-to-wear. It's a very exciting phase," he said. "The question is: how do we sustain this momentum in the months and years ahead?"

The United States, Europe and Japan are all performing well. China and the rest of Asia have proved surprisingly resilient despite the downturn weighing on global luxury sales.

"Despite the challenging context, our sales are growing. At a time when everyone is struggling, the quality of our collections and execution have helped us weather the storm," Pavlovsky said. "But as far as 2027 is concerned, I remain extremely cautious."

How is Chanel managing scarcity?

Chanel does not take pre-orders, and its collections have an average shelf life of two to three months. Pieces are produced in limited runs of 80 to 1,200 per design, divided across roughly 250 boutiques — meaning each store receives no more than four or five pieces of a 1,200-unit run.

"Right now, we're all about managing scarcity, but it's not because we're not ordering enough," Pavlovsky explained. "We could make 10 times as many and still not have enough" of the key runway looks that spark demand.

What changed inside the design studio?

To relieve pressure on Blazy's teams, Chanel has carried out its most wide-ranging studio reorganization since Karl Lagerfeld took the creative reins in 1983. Where a single studio previously produced 10 collections a year, the house has hired 30 additional people and split into three dedicated teams: haute couture, ready-to-wear, and Métiers d'Art plus cruise.

The manufacturing network — roughly 1,000 entities across tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers — has stayed largely intact. At least 90 percent of suppliers are unchanged, even as the brand broadens into unisex designs and acquired historic French shirtmaker Charvet.

"When Matthieu designs more boyish items like men's jackets, we obviously have to reach out to real men's tailoring workshops to make those, and not just repurpose women's jackets for men," Pavlovsky said.

What about lead times?

Specialized workshops have adopted new techniques for Blazy's designs, causing some delays, and certain collections face compressed production windows. The spring line must reach stores by late February or early March; with much of Italy shutting over the year-end holidays, production runs under four months. The Métiers d'Art collection, timed to pre-fall, gets five to six months.

"We are adapting not only the assortment, but also how to maximize the impact of this assortment in stores," Pavlovsky said. "But we have enough merchandise in stores."

Where is the retail network expanding?

Chanel renovates seven to eight boutiques per year and opens two or three new ones. Following a Palo Alto opening in June, the schedule includes:

• A new store in San Diego on Thursday
• A Shanghai pop-up for the Coco Neige winter sports line on Oct. 14
• A temporary store at Chatswood Chase in Sydney on Oct. 16
• A renovated Melbourne location on Nov. 11

"Australia is another promising market," Pavlovsky said, ahead of a replica cruise show in Sydney on Nov. 5. Blazy presents his spring 2027 collection at the Grand Palais on Monday, with a Métiers d'Art unveiling in Rome on Dec. 2.

The retail upgrade responds to capacity constraints: not all boutiques have enough space or fitting rooms for growing ready-to-wear demand. Chanel's clients stay with the brand nine years on average, and footwear is recruiting new, trend-conscious customers.

On former creative director Virginie Viard's new book about her 2024 dismissal, Pavlovsky said: "Chanel has always supported Virginie. I have no regrets. We all know we're just passing through. We find a house one way, and we leave it in another. What matters is that it keeps on growing."

As Chanel enters Blazy's second year, Pavlovsky acknowledged the pressure of a high bar but said the first year "could not have gone better" — with sustained momentum the question he now intends to answer.