Corporate Sales:

$15.6 billion

Beauty Sales:

$3.4 billion (est.)

Key Personnel:

• Alain Werthheimer, global executive chairman
• Gerard Werthheimer, co-chairman
• Alain Philippe Blondiaux, global chief financial officer
• Leena Nair global chief executive

Major Products:

Fragrances: Chanel No. 5, Allure, Allure Homme, Coco, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, No.19, Cristalle, Pour Monsieur, Antaeus, Egoïste, Les Exclusifs, Bleu de Chanel.

Skincare: Sublimage, Ultra Correction Lift and Line Repair, Hydramax + Active, White Essentiel, Le Blanc, Hydra-Beauty.

Color Cosmetics: Rouge Allure, Rouge Coco, Le Vernis, Inimitable, Inimitable Intense, Les 4 Ombres, Vitalumière, Joues Contrastes.

New Products:

Fragrance: Paris—Paris by Chanel, Chanel Factory 5, Blue de Chanel, Les Eaux de Chanel

Makeup: Les 4 Ombres Tweed palette, N°1 de Chanel Lip and Cheek Balm, Perles et Éclats de Chanel makeup collection

Skincare: Sublimage L’Extrait de Nuit, Sublimage L’Essence de Teint, Massage Oil Collection.

Financial Summary:

Luxury sales blossomed at Chanel with 2021 financial results driven by strong demand across all product lines. Sales reached $15.6 billion, up 49.6% versus 2020 and 22.9% versus 2019 on a comparable basis at constant currency. In fact, Chanel sales reached record highs in 2021 across all product categories despite the Covid pandemic impacting Retail and Travel retail businesses, particularly in the first part of the year. Operating profit showed an increase of 170.6% compared to 2020 and 57.5% compared to 2019. The company said a strong performance in the rest of the world made up for the closure of stores in Russia and China.

Philippe Blondiaux, global chief financial officer, commented: “This very strong financial performance reflects the strength and uniqueness of the Chanel brand focused on creation and sustained commitment to enhance our savoir-faire, while transforming our business model to have a positive impact and achieve our sustainability ambitions. The passion and engagement of our teams around the world is a key pillar of this success.

“Despite the challenging backdrop in 2021, our results highlighted remarkable customer demand particularly from our local client base, driven by the dedication and creativity of our teams to bring our clients’ dreams to life through unique experiences.”

Blondiaux went on to say: “2022 will be another year of significant investment to support the long-term health of the Chanel brand and to deliver our sustainability ambition, whether in our people, continued focus on quality, customer experience, our boutiques, or in our supply chain transformation.”

Fragrance & Beauty made a strong comeback based on market share gains in key countries, and demand (both in boutiques and online) from local clientele as travel retail remained impacted by restrictions. 2021 was also a milestone year for Fragrance with Chanel celebrating the 100th anniversary of its iconic Chanel N°5. This was led by innovative pop-ups in key markets and also through the launch of the Chanel Factory 5 collection—16 limited-edition products inspired by everyday objects in an ultra-modern design, bringing the history of the world’s most famous fragrance into the future. The success of Bleu and Coco Mademoiselle also boosted Fragrance sales while Skincare contributed to the growth of the Beauty segment.

Chanel has also continued to grow its Fragrance and Beauty standalone network, particularly in Asia, to further personalize the customer experience.

Blondiaux conceded that “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.”

2021-2022 Highlights:

In September 2021, following two-years of development, Chanel launched a sustainable cap for perfume bottles; the cap is made with Finland’s Sulapac manufactured material. The cap reportedly took two years and 47 previous prototypes before it was finalized, with the new biodegradable cap being made of 91% plant-based materials. The cap was used for all 125 milliliter bottles of the Les Eaux de Chanel collection of fragrances.

In December, the French luxury group named ex-Unilever executive Leena Nair as its new global chief executive, based in London.

In January 2022, Chanel revealed its Nº1 De Chanel 6-product collection, developed with three beauty categories in mind. Inspired by the scent of the red camellia flower, the collection comprises skincare, fragrance and make-up SKUs, all sustainably packaged.

The full range’s packaging has been housed in lighter jars and bottles to reduce weight, while plastic was greatly reduced, including the use of cellophane. Paper leaflets have been removed and product lids use recycled or bio-sourced materials. The brand also removed the use of inks on lids, and used engraving, instead. Organic inks, which consume less energy, were used on pack.

Looking Ahead

Blondiaux said the luxury house expects “healthy” growth in 2022, after a record 2021.

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