Chanel’s first results release shows its financial might
Fashion brand’s revenue rose 11.5% in first full results released in its 108-year history
PARIS — Chanel, the storied French fashion house that has dressed first ladies, royalty and Hollywood stars, published complete financial results for the first time Thursday, revealing itself as one of the luxury industry’s top-selling brands.
The move was a major step in the 108-year-old brand’s transformation from elite couture house to global luxury empire, and fuelled speculation about future plans.
Revenue last year was $9.62 billion, up 11.5 per cent compared with 2016. That places it ahead of Gucci and Hermès but likely behind Louis Vuitton in the rankings of the world’s biggest luxury brands. Its net profit was $1.79 billion, up 18.6 per cent from a year earlier. Chanel’s announcement Thursday lifts the cloak of mystery around a company whose operations have long generated speculation in the industry. In an era when many high-end brands have been snapped up by conglomerates, analysts and investors have wondered if Chanel has the financial wherewithal to remain independent. The brand is owned by the French brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, whose grandfather was the business partner of founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
“Our financial strength gives us the means to remain independent and to focus on the long term,” said Philippe Blondiaux, Chanel’s chief financial officer.
Without overall published results from the company, analysts previously examined figures disclosed by a holding company incorporated in the Netherlands, Chanel International BV. In 2016, the most recent year results were available, the subsidiary reported revenue of $5.67 billion, a 9 per cent drop from a year earlier.
Thursday’s disclosure shows those figures significantly understated the heft of the Chanel brand.
Thursday’s disclosure also revealed a large cash pile —$2.2 billion — and relatively little debt.
“It seems that all of a sudden the Chanel shareholders are more interested in the market,” said Exane BNP Paribas analyst Luca Solca.
“I presume this could be a preamble for either a future IPO or M&A.”
Louis Vuitton is the only luxury brand that may generate more revenue, though its corporate parent, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, doesn’t break out results. Analysts estimate Louis Vuitton’s revenue last year at around $11 billion. Founded in 1910 when Ms. Chanel set up a dress shop on Rue Cambon in Paris, the fashion house’s designs became an enduring touchstone for women’s fashion. Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and others dressed in Chanel.
In recent decades, the public face of Chanel has been creative director Karl Lagerfeld, instantly recognizable with his ubiquitous dark glasses and snow-white hair pulled into a ponytail. The company now has 20,000 employees globally, according to Thursday’s disclosure, selling everything from haute couture to leather goods, perfume and watches.
Europe is the brand’s biggest market, accounting for 40 per cent of revenue, followed by Asia Pacific and the Americas, according to the disclosure.
Chinese consumers have fuelled strong growth at Chanel, despite a hiccup in 2015-16 when Beijing cracked down on purchases of high-end goods. The brand is one of the most popular luxury labels among Chinese shoppers, whether buying at home or on trips abroad.