At the Chanel store, which stocks clothing, handbags, shoes, costume jewellery and fine jewellery, prices start at $310 for a Chanel badge and top out at $11,600 for a leather and lace-trimmed jacket.

COCO Chanel once said: “A fashion that does not reach the streets is not a fashion.”

In line with this democratic mantra, Chanel will today open its first ready-to-wear store in a shopping mall in Australia.

Next month, the world’s largest luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, will open its first shopping mall store in Australia, also at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction, before Louis Vuitton and Chanel both open stores at Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne in November.

The move into malls is not an anti-recession strategy — it was planned by both brands well before the economic downturn hit — but it should certainly help the luxury labels win new customers in uncertain times.

Chanel communications manager Susie Stenmark said: “There is significant traffic in WBJ. It is a very popular retail space and we expect to enjoy great success there.”

Louis Vuitton‘s Oceania chief executive Philip Corne agreed that luxury consumers today looked further afield than the traditional strongholds of Castlereagh Street in Sydney and Collins Street in Melbourne.

“There are many people now who don’t shop in the city on a regular basis, so if we can place our stores outside that (CBD) environment we are doing them a service and hopefully growing our business at the same time,” Mr Corne said.

But luxury does not come cheap. At the Chanel store, which stocks clothing, handbags, shoes, costume jewellery and fine jewellery, prices start at $310 for a Chanel badge and top out at $11,600 for a leather and lace-trimmed jacket.

Most shoppers at Westfield Bondi Junction last night were excited at the prospect of the new Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores opening in the centre. But not everyone was sure they could afford to buy the offerings.

“I am French, so for me it is very exciting,” said graphic designer Marianne Malafosse, 35.

“I just wonder how well they will do. I don’t think Australians are going to buy a Chanel jacket every day, especially not at $10,000 a pop.”

Others were equally enthusiastic. “I am excited by Louis opening, I am a total fan, absolutely.” said Suzanne Daily. “I am going to buy some luggage.”

Luxury brands are extremely fussy about the company they keep and tend to cluster together, so with Louis Vuitton and Chanel moving into malls, it is likely that others will follow. Given luxury consumers have deeper pockets than most, the arrival of Louis Vuitton and Chanel is likely to prove beneficial for other nearby tenants, who also stand to gain from their largesse.

Other upmarket shops already at the centre were enthusiastic about the new arrivals, believing they would bring in more business.

Sara Cawt, the manager of women’s clothing store Karen Millen England, said: “It’s fantastic. The big brands bring in the foot traffic and it gives a more upmarket look again to the centre.

“We’re definitely pleased to be opposite. It’s nice to be rated with world-class designers.”

However, Wendy Jaddes, manager of hairdressing salon Joh Bailey, said the security guards at Chanel were a bit off-putting.

“I wasn’t game enough to walk in, and I even work in the centre,” she said.

Credit: Georgina Safe, John Stapleton