Chanel Maintains Double-digit Revenue Growth in 2022 Despite Russia, China Impact

PARIS Chanel maintained double-digit growth in the first five months of the year, as a strong performance in the rest of the world compensated for the closure of stores in Russia and China, the company said on Tuesday.

The French luxury house reported that revenues totaled a record $15.6 billion in 2021, up 22.9 percent at comparable rates versus 2019, fueled by strong demand across all product lines from its local client base. Meanwhile, its operating profit jumped 57.5 percent.

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Philippe Blondiaux, chief financial officer of Chanel, said the company maintained a double-digit growth rate in 2022 so far, despite the war in Ukraine, which has prompted the company to suspend its operations in Russia, and renewed lockdowns in China designed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The executive noted that Russia accounts for less than 1.5 percent of its revenues. In mainland China, 31 percent of Chanel employees remain under lockdown. Five of its 16 boutiques there are closed, while 35 fragrance and beauty stores — roughly equivalent to a third of its network — are also shuttered.

“Obviously the situation in China is impacting us. But just to illustrate the confidence we have in our outlook for 2022, in spite of these difficulties, for the sole month of April at Chanel, we had a double-digit negative growth in China, but in spite of this, we had a double-digit positive growth for Chanel, consolidated,” Blondiaux told WWD.

He said this reflected strong business in Asia outside of China, citing Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea as standouts. “And the performance is very strong as well outside of Asia, in the U.S., in Europe, where we start to see the return of an international tourist business, in the U.K. as well,” Blondiaux added.

“In spite of the headwinds and uncertainties we are facing, we’ve maintained our momentum so far. We remain confident in delivering another year of solid performance and healthy growth for the Chanel brand and for the Chanel business, building off this obviously exceptional year 2021, and on our strong fundamentals,” he said.

In 2021, Chanel outperformed competitors such as luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which saw revenues increase 14 percent at constant exchange rates versus 2019, and Kering, which reported a 13 percent rise in organic sales. However, it was below the 33.4 percent increase recorded by Hermès International.

In terms of profitability, the group, which is privately owned and run by the Wertheimer family, saw a sharp improvement. It logged an operating profit of $5.5 billion, with an operating profit margin of 34.9 percent, up from 20.3 percent in 2020.

Blondiaux said the results confirmed Chanel’s strategic pillars of harmonizing its prices across geographical regions, and refusing to sell ready-to-wear or leather goods online.

Chanel announced in March that it was hiking the cost of its four core handbag styles and spring rtw collection in several regions worldwide. Its classic 11.12 bag, for instance, now retails for 8,250 euros, compared with 7,800 euros previously. The costs of the Boy, 2.55 and Chanel 19 bags also went up.

This marked the sixth time that Chanel has increased its prices since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and the second time in the space of six months, following an adjustment last November.

Blondiaux said Chanel would continue to tweak its prices to take into account currency fluctuations and inflation, both of which have increased recently. “We usually revise our prices twice a year. That’s what we’ve always done and will continue to do,” he said. Nonetheless, he does not anticipate any blowback from Chanel customers.

“The pricing of everything we sell is based, we believe, on the exceptional creativity we demonstrate, on the exceptional creativity of our materials, exceptional savoir-faire, and I believe our customers understand that, as illustrated by the fantastic momentum we had in 2021, and even more importantly, continue to enjoy in 2022 as well,” Blondiaux noted.

Europe remained the region hardest-hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic last year. Compared with 2019, sales were down 10.9 percent to $4.04 billion, while revenues in the Americas were up 52.6 percent to $3.53 billion, and Asia Pacific jumped 48.7 percent to $8.07 billion.

Fashion sales were up by double digits in all product lines, driven by leather goods and rtw. Revenues in the watches and jewelry division grew in the double digits across all regions, with precious jewelry posting “outstanding” results thanks to the continued strong performance of the Coco Crush line.

The performance of the fragrance and beauty division, which accounts for a larger than average proportion of revenues at Chanel, was more muted as travel retail remained impacted by restrictions.

Blondiaux said the segment recorded a positive top-line evolution in spite of a 66 percent drop in revenues in its travel retail business, and the negative impact of mask-wearing on makeup sales, thanks to strong demand from local clients, both in stores and online.

He said Chanel plans to invest more than $1 billion and hire more than 3,500 people net in 2022, while continuing to invest to deliver on its climate and sustainability commitments.

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