Founded over a century ago, Chanel is a world leader in luxury, from ready-to-wear, leather goods, and fashion accessories to makeup, skincare, watches, and fine jewelry. Dedicated to high levels of craftsmanship, the core values of the brand remain historically grounded in exceptional creation and client experience. Associated with long-standing heritage, expert craftsmanship, and “savoir-faire,” Chanel is also embracing digital technology as it recognizes the value of data insights to stay ahead of the curve.
Chanel has always been a pioneer of modernity, defining trends in fashion luxury and seeking to constantly reinvent itself by embracing innovation; the company is also committed to digital innovation as a means to deliver exceptional experiences to its clients. Chanel trusted Microsoft to provide cutting-edge technologies to embrace the full potential of unified data and generative AI.
Explanations from Philippe Baumlin, Chief Information Officer Corporate, Olivier Barbonnat, Chief Information Officer Europe, and Vincent Arcin, Digital Director Europe at Chanel:
Leveraging data to achieve excellence with Microsoft Fabric
“Our users, from the boutique advisors right up to our CEO, have access to core company data: sales, inventory, customer trends, etc.,” says Philippe Baumlin, CIO Corporate. To further enhance its capabilities, the company has been investing over the past years in data platforms to support business intelligence and analytics. As part of this, Chanel also decided to adopt an enterprise-wide data platform powered by Microsoft Fabric, an all-in-one, highly integrated, and user-friendly data analytics solution.
“We chose Microsoft Fabric as the foundation of this platform, driven by its ability to implement a data mesh approach,” details Philippe Baumlin. It offers both a unified service and a decentralized approach.
Chanel’s approach relies on several independent data lakes, each adhering to stringent technical and functional guidelines. “We've crafted a technical blueprint that specifies the Microsoft technologies to be used, from Azure to Power BI, and outlines best practices for seamless implementation,” Olivier Barbonnat, CIO Europe, explains.
Microsoft Fabric is an end-to-end product that integrates existing technologies such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Power BI.
“A common data portal, powered by Microsoft's secure cloud services, facilitates data sharing among entities with robust access controls to protect data integrity and ownership,” Barbonnat added. Data is a powerful asset for Chanel. That requires it to be treated responsibly. As a software as a service (SaaS) platform, Microsoft Fabric guarantees the incorporation of built-in security and reliability features to safeguard data both at rest and in transit. Fabric also evolves dynamically with ongoing enhancements, introducing new features and controls to adapt to changing security landscapes.
Enhancing the client experience with generative AI
By adopting a company-wide, modern data management strategy, Chanel can leverage generative AI to its full potential. The French luxury fashion house launched a cross-functional initiative to elevate both the employee experience and exceed client expectations.
“One of the unique strengths of AI is its versatility, allowing us to innovate in a number of areas from marketing to content creation, sales aftercare, customer care, supply chain, e-business, and HR ...,” says Vincent Arcin, Digital Director Europe at Chanel.
The company focuses its digital initiative on three domains that are keystones to Chanel’s success: client experience, operational excellence, and employee efficiency. With AI, it finds new ways to elevate client experience through personalization and relevant product recommendations.
In addition, the generative AI capabilities offered by Azure OpenAI Service are excellent tools for enhancing productivity. The company can now benefit from significant support in performing real-time translations or quality monitoring, which is adding considerable value for Customer Care teams that cater to a global audience.
Generative AI also helps employees work more efficiently by streamlining daily tasks. The company developed specific training and upskilling programs for its employees so that they could make the most of these technologies in their day-to-day roles, such as how to better use Copilot to improve efficiency.
Microsoft's state-of-the-art technologies are making the most relevant information easily accessible to employees to aid decision-making processes. “Augmented clienteling apps, knowledge-based search, and training-related bots are examples of areas that are benefiting from the technology,” Arcin concludes.
Chanel demonstrates how to embrace new perspectives offered by cutting-edge technologies while keeping human creativity, craftsmanship, and relationships at the core of the brand to shape the future.
“We've crafted a technical blueprint that specifies the Microsoft technologies to be used, from Azure to Power BI, and outlines best practices for seamless implementation.”
Olivier Barbonnat, Chief Information Officer Europe, CHANEL
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