Iconic fashion brand Chanel disclosed its annual earnings to the poorly perfumed public yesterday for the first time in the company’s 108-year history — revealing $9.62B in sales last year.
Chanel announced the dirty details and a companywide reorganization to make a statement and tell would-be buyers to buzz off.
A balance sheet pungent with profits
Chanel’s co-owners (grandkids of Coco’s OG business partner) surprised the notoriously tight-lipped luxury fashion industry with the news — revealing the company posted a $1.79B net profit last year, up 18.6%.
The company also announced a new holding company called Chanel Limited, which will streamline all of the brand’s different companies under one chic umbrella.
Chanel wants other fashionable financiers to back off
Chanel’s $9.62B revenue puts the brand in direct competition with Louis Vuitton — which does between $9.28B and $11.6B — for luxury retail’s gold medal (Gucci wins a solid bronze with $7.1B).
But both Louis Vuitton and Gucci are owned by fashion conglomerates (LVMH and Kering, respectively) — making independent Chanel the most sought-after collector’s item for luxury fashion conglomerates.
“Chanel… will remain the same in 10 years, 50 years — centuries,” Chanel CFO Philippe Blondiaux confirmed in a phone interview with the NYT. In other words, buyers can talk to the handbag.