Kim Keonhee's Chanel Bag Traced by Serial Number... How Luxury Brands Collect VIP Data [Luxury World]

Tiffany and Dior Customer Purchase and Preference Data Leaked
More Than Half of Luxury Brand Sales Come from High-Engagement Customers
VIP Data Used for Customer Management and Resale Market Control

After prosecutors conducted a search and seizure of Chanel Korea, it was confirmed that the aide to First Lady Kim Keonhee had a purchase history for a Chanel bag, drawing attention to how luxury brands collect and manage customer information. Previously, prosecutors found that Kim’s aide received a Chanel bag from Jeon Seongbae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa,' and later exchanged it twice for different models. The aide received a 'Handle-Decorated Flap Bag' (8.02 million won) and a 'Classic Large Flap Bag' (12.71 million won), and then paid an additional 850,000 won and 8 million won, respectively, to exchange them for other bags. Prosecutors tracked the distribution history of these bags through their serial numbers.

Chanel Classic Flap Bag

Luxury brands such as Chanel, Hermes, and Rolex assign unique identification numbers (serial numbers) to most products and record information on when, where, and by whom each item was purchased through customer registration. This is done to manage VIP (Very Important Person) customers, and to prevent resale (secondhand trading) and the distribution of counterfeit goods. However, as the collected information is managed together with customers' personal data, concerns have been growing over recent data leaks at luxury brands.

Half of Luxury Sales Come from VIP Customers

According to the luxury industry on June 1, more than half of the sales at major luxury brands come from the top 5-10% of VIP customers. For this reason, brands analyze customers’ purchase histories, preferred products, body types, styles, and social status to provide 'tailored service.'

Luxury brands use the collected information to provide personalized, close-contact services, such as sending custom gifts for birthdays or anniversaries. When products that match a VIP’s preferences and size arrive, brands notify VIPs in advance and offer them purchase priority. They also provide invitations to private collections (product unveilings) and exhibitions. These services are designed to increase customer satisfaction beyond just the products purchased by VIPs. Through these efforts, brands aim to prevent customer churn and boost loyalty.

Customer data is used not only for marketing but also for counterfeit detection and secondhand market management. By attaching serial numbers, stickers, or chips, brands can roughly determine whether a product has appeared on the secondhand market and who is currently using it. For luxury brands like Hermes and Chanel, bags come with stickers or stamps displaying unique serial numbers. By entering the serial number, one can check which store sold the product, to whom, for how much, and how it was purchased.

Watch and jewelry companies such as Rolex and Cartier manage serial numbers even more strictly. Because these items can be worth hundreds of millions of won and are vulnerable to theft, matching serial numbers to buyers helps protect the products. However, in the case of sophisticated counterfeits, even the chips can be perfectly replicated, making it difficult to distinguish genuine products.

Dior and Tiffany Data Leaks: "Customers Notified Months Later"

However, while such data collection enables personalized customer service, it also poses significant risks if leaked. Even if luxury brands collect data as a premium service strategy, their responsibility for information protection increases accordingly.

There have been actual data breaches at luxury brands. Recently, customer information was leaked in large quantities from Dior and Tiffany, both under the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) Group.

Recently, both Dior and Tiffany experienced customer data breaches. On May 7, Dior sent a message to customers stating that it had confirmed unauthorized third-party access to customer data on January 26 of this year. The leaked information reportedly included names, mobile phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, honorifics (social status), purchased items, and preferred products. Dior explained that no financial information was leaked, but faced heavy criticism for only notifying customers months after the breach occurred.

Tiffany also belatedly informed customers that unique numbers, which could identify purchase histories, repair requests, and inquiry details, were leaked along with personal information. As of now, neither Dior nor Tiffany has provided a clear explanation regarding the perpetrators or methods of the hacking. An industry insider commented, "Although group headquarters claim to manage customer data securely, the small number of staff in Korea makes them vulnerable to information security attacks."