(Bloomberg) -- Chanel reported double-digit growth in sales and profit for last year, benefiting from higher prices and strong demand, while also cautioning that conditions in the luxury industry are growing more challenging.
Chanel Ltd. sales rose 16% on a comparable basis to $19.7 billion in 2023, it said Tuesday. Operating profit reached $6.4 billion, an 11% increase. The Asia-Pacific region, which represents more than half of total revenue, led the growth.
The performance puts privately held Chanel in the company of Hermes International SCA and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, rival luxury groups that have also shown resilience to cooling demand for high-end goods. Yet Chanel’s warning on tougher conditions and its lack of an update on current trading left some analysts concerned about the outlook for the industry.
Shares of Hermes, LVMH and Gucci-owner Kering SA all declined in Paris trading on Wednesday.
Read more: Hermes Leads Luxury Stocks Lower as Chanel Results Fuel Concerns
Chanel is widely viewed as one of the most exclusive luxury brands, with items such as its medium-size flap bag now selling for more than €10,000 ($10,867) in France after years of steady price hikes.
The sales growth in 2023 was driven 9% by pricing and 7% by increased volumes, Chief Financial Officer Philippe Blondiaux told Bloomberg in an interview.
Americas Weakness
The Americas region was the weakest, registering a 2.4% increase in sales as higher inflation curbed demand from so-called aspirational customers. Demand in the US has been challenging over the last 18 months, Blondiaux said, adding he’s hopeful that a rising stock market and improving economic conditions will lead to a rebound.
Chanel is owned by the billionaire brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, whose fortunes are estimated at about $47.6 billion each, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The company, founded in Paris but headquartered in London since 2018, reports its financial performance once a year.
A final dividend of £4.5 billion ($5.7 billion) for 2023 has been recommended for approval, a corporate filing showed. This compares with an interim dividend of $1.68 billion for the previous year. In 2021, the payouts amounted to $5 billion, according to the filings.
Growth in Fashion
The brand’s fashion collections are headed by Virginie Viard, who took over after Karl Lagerfeld’s death in 2019. She unveiled Chanel’s cruise collection earlier this month on a rooftop in Marseille, France. Models strutted in cold and windy weather with some wearing pale green tweed ensembles paired with hoodies in an apparent bid to appeal to younger clients.
Since Viard has been in charge, Chanel’s fashion business has more than doubled, with ready-to-wear, in particular, expanding, Blondiaux said. “The CFO of Chanel is the happiest in the world to have Virginie as a designer,” the executive said. Chief Executive Officer Leena Nair said customers “love the silhouette and fit” of Viard’s creations.
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Luxury players have been snapping up properties in crucial retail locations, and this will be a year of “more significant investments in real estate” for Chanel, Blondiaux said, in locations including New York, Paris and secondary cities. The global market value of Chanel’s properties stands at more than $7 billion, he added.
(Updates with outlook, luxury shares and analyst reaction)
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