Chanel announces $1.79B annual profits, its first such move in 108 years 

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.