Chanel saw a solid year of growth in 2023. Fragrance and makeup were once again the main contributors to sales increases in beauty last year, but sales gained across all categories. All regions were positive, and travel retail recovered in the Western Hemisphere but remained slightly below 2019 levels in the Eastern Hemisphere.
In fragrance, the primary contributors to growth were the Chance Masterbrand and Coco Mademoiselle. N°5 was in line with the previous year. Timothée Chalamet was named as the new face of Bleu de Chanel, while Canadian actress Whitney Peak became the face of Coco Mademoiselle.
Makeup recovered to pre-pandemic sales levels across regions, with the face and lip categories the main growth drivers. Lipstick 31 Le Rouge, Chanel’s first refillable lipstick housed in a glass pack and inspired by the brand’s historic headquarters at 31 Rue Cambon, hit the market in September.
Skin care was driven by Sublimage, which also launched a line with refillable packaging, and by the Asian market.
Chanel opened more than 20 beauty boutiques in 2023, mainly in Asia and the U.S., including in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It also expanded Stateside with Ulta Beauty as that retailer sought to flex its muscles in the luxury beauty space.
Online sales were roughly flat year-on-year, with sales gains on its own platforms counterbalanced by a slowdown for retailer e-commerce.
In January this year, Christine Dagousset, Chanel’s global open innovation officer and previously global president of fragrance and beauty, left the company.
Source: WWD