Chanel seeks to invest its way out of ‘luxury malaise’

A turbulent economic climate and changing consumer behaviour is now also proving too much for French fashion house Chanel. The luxury brand is now also seeing a sharp drop in sales and profits, but continues to invest in expanding its store network.

General malaise

Chanel sales fell 4.5 % to 18.7 billion dollars (16 billion euros) last year, while profits fell 28.2 % to 4.5 billion dollars. It was the first sales decline the brand had to announce since 2020 – then due to store closures during the pandemic. It is a remarkable setback for a company known as one of the most stable players in the luxury industry. The downturn is due to economic headwinds and changing consumer buying habits, the group says.