Chanel closes 2022 with record sales

The luxury goods group Chanel set a new sales record in 2022 thanks to the global success of its fashion and cosmetics divisions and is “confident” for 2023 despite the “uncertainties” in the market.

“Chanel has once again delivered solid financial results in 2022, with double-digit increases in all categories,” said Philippe Blondiaux, the company’s chief financial officer, according to a press release published on Thursday. He was pleased with “these results, which were achieved despite numerous macroeconomic challenges”.

The fashion house founded by Coco Chanel, best known for its tweed suits and Numéro 5 perfume, announced that it posted sales of $17.22 billion last year, an increase of 10 .1 percent compared to the previous year. That means “another year of record sales” that would have exceeded the level of 2019 – i.e. before the pandemic – in all markets.

Net income grows to $4.6 billion

Net income was $4.6 billion, up 14.2 percent, while operating income was $5.7 billion (+5.8 percent). The investment would have amounted to 668 million US dollars, which “corresponds to 3.9 percent of sales,” according to the statement.

“These results have been achieved through strong demand from our local customers worldwide and reflect our continued investment in the shopping experience, expertise and people,” Blondiaux concluded.

For 2023, “despite the uncertainties in the market, we remain confident that we can achieve sustainable and healthy growth, while remaining committed to our employees, our customers and our brand,” explained the CFO, but did not give any specific figures.

The fashion house, owned by the Wertheimer brothers, is one of the few in the fashion and luxury goods industry to remain independent. Last year, the group increased its workforce by 12 percent to over 32,000 employees worldwide. “This is mainly due to growth in areas such as digitization, IT and sustainability,” the company said.

The fashion and cosmetics divisions boost sales development

On a regional basis, sales increased by 16.8 percent in Europe, 7.2 percent in Asia-Pacific and 9.4 percent in the Americas. While Chanel did not release financial results for each division, it said its fashion collections “continued to do well, with exceptional growth in all categories, particularly leather goods and footwear.”

The perfume and cosmetics division has benefited from the “recovery in the travel industry as well as continued demand from local customers”, while the watches and jewelery divisions “continued to show solid momentum”.

The group stated that it “continued to make significant investments in 2022”. “A large part of this investment has been in Chanel’s current and future retail network, as well as its network of independent perfume and beauty stores.”

The group also invested in digitization, a “key area for improving customer experience and business activities”. Most recently, online sales “continued to grow worldwide”. Chanel said it has invested just over $2 billion in strengthening the brand, “an increase of 14.3 percent compared to 2021” and “particularly in customer events held throughout the year.” take place”, was due.

Chanel’s competitors also achieved record sales in 2022: At LVMH, sales jumped by 23 percent to 79 billion euros, at Richemont by 19 percent to 19.9 billion euros, at Kering by 15 percent to 20.4 billion euros and at Hermès by almost 30 percent to 11.6 billion euros.

This article was translated from French by FashionUnited

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