LAST May, Alla Prokopov, a saleswoman at Bergdorf Goodman, made a trip to Moscow, her first since she left Russia 30 years ago. She can’t explain why she didn’t care to go sooner, other than that she was always busy.

Ms. Prokopov, a statuesque woman with a streaked blonde hair, works in the Chanel area, and many of her best clients are rich Russians. At first she sold perfume, but between mangling the French names and outselling the other salesclerks, she reckoned she could do better. The store, eager to keep her, granted what she wanted, which was Chanel.

That was 25 years ago. By placing a jeweled brooch on a lapel or going to unusual lengths to please a client, Allachka, as she was called, gained access to Moscow’s elite circles. She didn’t feel the need to go there. “My world is home and Bergdorf, Bergdorf and home,” she said recently.

But when the wife of a high-ranking government official invited Ms. Prokopov to an elegant party, she decided it was time to see for herself what was happening in Moscow. Pushing her was Galina Royzman, Ms. Prokopov’s dark-haired and more pragmatic Bergdorf colleague at Chanel for the last 17 years. They do everything as a team, racking up some of the store’s highest sales numbers, according to executives. It’s not unusual for a client to spend $25,000 to $50,000 with them in a morning of shopping, although once a client dropped around $360,000; and just six months ago another spent $275,000. That was in a single day. Despite working through at least two recessions, the women say they usually meet their annual sales goals.