Always underestimated. People dont know what to expect. Francine lena nair is in charge of the most exclusive Luxury Brands in the world, chanel. Known for its iconic fragrances made an avid guard moved to the top of the chart. She spent three decades at unilever before switching from the world of fast moving goods to hot couture and beauty. The firms history is legendary and its founder to its hands including marilyn monroe. Its a chance to make history. I want to change the world and look good by doing good. Francine i speak about her professional and personal journey, how it defines her leadership style and unique approach at the top of luxury. Thank you so much for joining us here on bloomberg. Delighted to be here. Francine whats it like being a chanel chief executive . Its the best job in the world. Creative, vibrant, the sector is doing well, its a great place to be. Francine what kind of difference do you want to make at chanel, is a longevity, what it stands for, sustainability . I want to lead chanel into the future along with my team and lead chanel into the future by protecting whats unique about us. And by evolving as a scaled evolving iconic business brand. Its important to understand the context we operate in. The context we have is very dynamic macroeconomic challenges, inflation, complete fragmentation, Media Channels, ecosystems and winning hearts and minds of people is difficult in todays day and age. Ai, theres not a week you dont hear about ai. So all of this is happening externally. Internally it has been a phase of rapid growth. In the last 10 years, we have more than doubled our revenue, we have more than doubled the number of people who work for us, we have more than doubled the distribution presence, we have more than doubled the number of countries. Thats a lot of growth. My role with my Leadership Team is to ensure that we make coherent changes, that we make sense of these changes and we are constantly shaping whats next. Francine as far as i can remember chanel is beautiful, highend luxury, everybody wanted the product but it was secretive. And now theres been an opening through culture events, why is that . Can a highend Luxury Company no longer be secretive in 2024 . Never having been in the world of luxury, sophistication or refinement, didnt know what to expect when i came to chanel two and a half years ago. Its a very humble company. People are truly humble and it comes from a sense of we dont say things unless we have really done them. High integrity. We would rather do things before we speak about them. Some of the shyness has been to do with that. The part of it is, as weve grown larger and ive explained some of the internal context, weve been in so many markets, having so many people work for us, it becomes important to be clearer and more open about who we are, what we stand for. Its a 100yearold company, its important to say what we do to be a beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years. Francine is that because we buy luxury differently and clients wanted more than 10 to 15 years ago . I think there is no one reason to engage in luxury. We see all kinds of clients, people who are longtime fans are chanel, dedicated buyers. Firsttime buyers are 30 of our clients, which is allowed. We see a lot of gen z. 35 of luxury consumers will be gen z. Its a hard number to believe but the vibrancy of the vitality is huge because each of those clients have a different set of reasons for why they engage. For gen z they buy because they want to buy less and buy better. They say its a financially wise investment. But everybody buys for different reasons. For mean, its part of continuing to build our brand, our reputation, our company and telling a story and engaging ways. Francine you have to speak differently to the Younger Generation . Not really, our story of craftsmanship, of how many hours goes into making this jacket, like a hundred hours, all hand made, it is still the core of our craftsmanship. It is still how people engage with luxury, the quality of it, the beauty of it, a thing of beauty gives us all joy. Thats a very good reason of how people look at luxury, the quality and being part of that. In the story of chanel in the story of her dna and what she means for us. Her spirit of constantly waiting in radical ways. When she designed clothes, it was about the freedom of movement. It was about anticipating the needs of the modern woman. It was about creating trousers, cross body bag so women can ride bikes and horses. Whoever they wanted to be, it was about being on this journey of selfdiscovery with women. In that court part of our story doesnt change. It is the story of women becoming the best versions of themselves, to discover themselves. That story still engages. The core of our story really doesnt change. How we see it might change. Its all sorts of things, instagram, tiktok, the Media Channels things, but the core of our story is still very much who we are chanel. Francine chanel is like a pioneer, when you talk about her its also a little bit of your story. You have a unique story. You grew up in a town in india were not many females are educated to a higher level, what was that journey like . Grexit was a long journey. I grew up in a small town in the southwest of india in the world of luxury, refinement, sophistication was very far away from where he grew up. It was a small town like many other. Most of my memories are of me running barefoot in the town and having my little bike. Women being ambitious was not the norm. I remember my mother constantly telling me who will marry you, your cell ambitious and do you really know what you are going to do with your life questioned do with your life . I did engineering after convincing everybody in my family that engineering was good for girls. It was great, electronics in telecommunication. I enjoyed being in the minority but learning a lot more about the world of technology. I worked all of the country. I had a hands on experience, worked in shopfloor, or trucks in the morning going to the train selling t. It was a fun experience. It was an adventure. It meant being constantly underestimated. It meant that you always look different because you were the first woman on the first brown person, first asian, first person to lead a global luxury brand. You are always underestimated. People dont know what to expect. And along with it comes the responsibility for making it easier for those who come after you. I feel a tremendous privilege, tremendous responsibility to make it easier, which means questioning norms, being a role model, mentoring is many people as i can to make it easier for others. Francine is there ever a challenge you actually shied away from . Every single thing ive done, its almost as if somebody said it cant be done. I was in a fashion factory and i said i want to go on that night shift and they said we dont put women on the night shift. I said how will it be successful if i dont go on the night shift, a period of my people work on the night shift. It fueled some of my determination, it has fueled some of mine, i will show this sense of, i will get on and do it. He gives me courage because i feel sometimes im not just doing it for me, im doing it for everyone else who comes after me. It fuels my determination and courage. I dont shy away from challenges and i always tell them women who asked me for advice, put your hand up for the most difficult job, but your hand up for the most challenge. Lean into things that are challenging because thats what gives you the greatest credibility, respect, reputation. Francine the longterm outlook for luxury and the changing role of what it means to be a chief executive. grunting at morgan stanley, old school hard work meets bold new thinking. laughter at 88 years old, we still see the world with the wonder of new eyes, helping you discover untapped possibilities and relentlessly working with you to make them real. Old school grit. New world ideas. Morgan stanley. Francine chanel is behind some of the most recognizable designs and fragrances. Involved with the company over the past century. I continue my rare interview with the first chief executive. Do you see the highend luxury, does that go higher in luxury, that there are a lot of players in the fashion world and luxury world and its the ones that are very high that will do well, does that also justify the price increases we have seen it chanel . Our prices are related to our cost prices. We use exquisite Raw Materials in our production, as you know, is very rigorous, laborious, handmade. We raise our prices according to inflation. So they are linked to the cost price. Weve made a commitment to price harmonization across the world, which means our client should not experience excessive price differentials no matter where they buy. Francine the market is also something we see more and more in the last four to five years. What is that mean for a company like chanel . We have always said we want our clients to buy from our Beautiful Stores because we believe clients must enjoy the immersive experience, immersive physical experience and build a relationship that the fashion advisor, boutique assistant, which is so magical and so core. Francine how do you see the china market compared to the European Market . You see a base that stays for a long time. Kwuex it is central because of the fast adoption of luxury, because of the appreciation of refinement and sophistication. Its a very important market from us. I came back recently from china and i was very happy to see the energy and vibrancy in the market. We continue to run our business for the long term and invest in china for the long term. Similarly u. S. , i see u. S. As a longterm market, it always has been. All markets see ebbs and flows, but if you keep a longterm perspective, you continue to invest and we just opened our beautiful store on the 5th avenue. It is absolutely breathtaking. With everything you would expect in his chanel boutique. Great personalization, intimacy, things that uplift you. So we believe in both these markets. Francine it has to be tough to be a chief executive in 2024 because of constant change and we dont know what ai brings. Quakes yes, it is challenging. One principal is a leader is collective intelligence. I believe the days of the superhero leader is behind us. Where its so complex there a crisis on multiple levels. The matter how bright one individual is, can help answer all the questions, no chance. Thats why believe in collective intelligence, go around the room, listen to every voice. Its so important for me not just to listen to the dominant voices in my meeting room but all around the table. Francine you always say you lead and lift, which is not always easy. In my early days of my career in unilever, when i was going to a factory and i felt as if it was not safe for women, i would make sure it was safer for women who came after me. I was always challenging what was happening to make it easier for those that come after me. Its beautiful and chanel with 6 women. 60 of my Management Team is women. Its easier to set into place everything to support the development and career of all these women and create a more equal world. Francine would you ever going to menswear, which chanel going go into menswear . Its a rare time in our history where we have a female founder, female ceo, female creative director of fashion, so its a rare time. I think we support women everywhere in such a beautiful way. We do make things for men, blur is one of the largest selling perfume for men and i hope it stays that way. We really are by women, for women, support women and we will empower and support women on the journey of becoming. Francine i forgot the perfumes. There are things people dont understand about chanel or we talk about the foundation. You have other brands. How do you see these other Companies Working together . Quex the world leader we are in many categories. We are in frequencies, beauty, skin care. The Leadership Team, we started working on the beacon of inspiration for the next 100 years of the 100 year plan constantly clicking ahead. We started building Building Blocks and it was sustainability and the leader of empowerment and girls. So we are one of the largest Financial Organization dedicated to Women Empowerment for girls. Francine not many people know that. 125 million this year. We have increased that to 125 million. We are truly one of the largest organizations in the world. We work with 237 partners in 50 plus countries on beautiful programs that support women to be free to shape their destiny. Francine how chanel is trying to change luxury and how her background helped to shape her mindset is a chief executive. speaking to self about our honeymoon. What about africa . Safari . Hot air balloon ride . Swim with elephants . Wait, can we afford a safari . Great question. Like everything, it takes a little planning. Or, put the money towards a downpayment. On a ranch. In montana. With horses lets take a look at those scenarios. J. P. Morgan Wealth Management has advisors in chase branches and tools, like wealth plan to keep you on track. When youre planning for it all. The answer is j. P. Morgan Wealth Management. Francine shes used to breaking convention and changing norms in the workplace, including her transition from unilever and Human Resources to becoming the chief executive of one of the most prestigious names and luxury. She tells me how chanel is positioning for the future of fashion and what it means for her legacy at the iconic firm. How difficult is it for big Luxury Company to be sustainable. You have very ambitious goals. I would like us to set the bar for luxury. I would like other luxury players to be inspired by what chanel does every day. One of the few luxury players who has set a goal of net zero 2040, so we would really reduce our carbon emissions. For example, in carbon emissions, we are reducing our logistics, transports and doing it digital. Chanel. Com sign increase in traffic of 30 that is 16 reduction in carbon footprint. Francine how much comes from heart of trying to do good . In five to 10 years there will be a bit more focus on this. Quex i think clients believe luxury is sustainable because they know we make beautiful things, we make them with hand in that genuine desire by clients to see us continue to sustainable is only going to go up. More gen z and alpha are buying and they buy because they want to buy less and by better, which is their right mindset to engage with luxury. It is increasingly important. Francine in sustainability do you need to be a risk taker . The idea that as a chief executive you need to be careful, but is there anything, and where you will challenge your risktaking . Quex i think for all of us, the world today its moving fast. You are constantly a child taking. For me we are courageous brand because we walk in the footsteps of a courageous woman. She lived the life she wanted, courageously, passionately and made the choices she wanted. One of her values is audacity. For me, audacity is so important. You call it risktaking, i call it audacity. Francine i actually prefer audacity. A has a certain cachet. What have you learned about yourself as chief executive . You were in charge of hr for unilever. Hundreds of thousands of employees, is it different being in charge of a company than being in charge of hr . When i was going to chanel a mentor told me, you are doing a quadruple job. So it has changed in so many dimensions, its public to private. It is from anglo dutch to french heritage. It has been changed on all dimensions. And, luxury is very different. The rarity is not available everywhere every time. Its the balance between timeliness, its all of that. Its different. To be the principles of business and the principle of leadership are transferable across sectors. Addie run a business across multiple countries, multiple geographies, multiple cultures . How to galvanize and inspire teams across multiple cultures. There are principles that hold it because people are people at the end of the day. They had motivations, dreams, aspirations. Being in chanel has taught me to be more patient more longterm with quarterly results, etc. , its a different world. It has taught me to be more patient. It has taught me to appreciate a lot more. I want to change the world to look good while doing it. Francine do you think about your legacy . Quex fermi, i hope people see i am a good leader. You spend a lot of time thinking about what are you doing, what are you giving back and what will be the difference you make . A hundred years from now, people are back and say that we at chanel did stuff today that inspires them that questioned norms about what they are doing, audacious things that redefy the norms and supporting women everywhere to feel like they can be the best version of themselves. I think that would be something that i would feel good about. If i need a few women in the world and see a little bit more about what they could achieve in their lives, i would feel very fulfilled in my life. Francine do you think you will ipo chanel . Quex no. An ipo is not on the table. We love the privilege of being an independent company, being able to make longterm decisions. Francine best piece of advice and worst piece of advice youve ever been given. Best piece of advice, im going to do too. One is, fall in love with each of you have, dont wait for the perfect job, follow him up with the job you have and make it the most perfect job in the world. The other is, which my husband tells me a lot, enjoy the journey is much as you enjoy the destination. You are always in a hurry to get somewhere and to the next promotion. Just enjoy. Breathe a bit and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Worst piece of advice, i think most often when you get the worst piece of advice you just ignore it and forget about it, but, i have received advice like , when i was in meeting rooms, the only woman in the room so many times in my career, i have received advice like stay quiet for as long as you can and try to blend in. You are already starting out because you are looked different from the rest. I think its terrible advice. I think its really important to feel safe to be who you are and it takes courage to be who you are any change by being who you are. Francine thank you so much for joining us today. David inhale the fresh air, i can almost smell it through the hd screens. A shot of wellington where we are looking for the way to start to come out. . 61 in 30 seconds, here comes nothing, quite literally, because no change expected there from all economists. Its really about the guidance, the underlying economy hasnt done well, just the contrast