Chanel Ltd. ‘s ambitions to strengthen its position in luxury timepieces were on full display with two watch investments in the last six months.
Chanel ltd. paid 20 million Swiss francs for a 20% stake in Swiss watchmaker Kenissi last march, according to the company’s first public accounting disclosure in June 2018. In mid-september, French luxury giant acquired a fifth of Montres Journe SA, the parent company of F.P. Journe. Plus the 1993 acquisition of Swiss watches parts manufacturers G&F Chatelain SA, and successively in 1998 and 2011 Bell & Ross in France and Switzerland watch of independent manufacturers Romain Gauthier, Chanel ltd. pointed out that these transactions in line with the group for its products with high quality case and movement of the strategy, and further improve the layout of watch industry.
Kenissi watchmaking factory, located in Geneva, provides a series of powerful and efficient movement, which will move to Le Locle in 2021. In an emailed statement, Chanel ltd. said its current investment in Kenissi remains the same. At the Basel watch show in March 2019, Chanel will be releasing an automatic movement watch with a model launched by Kenissi watchmaking factory.
After several years of slowdown and contraction, the Swiss watch industry has rebounded in 2017 and accelerated in 2018, boosted by Chinese consumers. However, the impact of a trade war between China and the United States on consumer confidence and a high comparison base in 2017 slowed growth in the second half of the year. In this context, the performance of high-end watches is still strong. According to the November data of Swiss watch industry federation, the export volume and export value of watches with the export price higher than 3,000 Swiss francs recorded an increase of 11.4% and 8.4% respectively, which confirms the booming trend of the top watch market. Swiss exports were weak at all three main levels, below 3,000 Swiss francs.
Chanel ltd. reported revenue of $9.62 billion in 2017, up 11% from a year earlier, excluding currency effects, and operating profit of nearly $2.7 billion. Net profit also jumped 18.5% to $1.79 billion. Philippe Blondiaux, the chief financial officer, said at the time that the disclosure was a result of the group’s “decision to be transparent” about the financial soundness of its financial statements and its ability to remain independent as a private company for centuries to come, rather than having its results reported.
Last year the group reorganized itself so heavily that it now has almost all its businesses, functions and small brands under one umbrella. Chanel Ltd. and its headquarters have moved to London from New York. While the group’s owners, the Wertheimer brothers, have stepped down from the board of Chanel Ltd.
Chanel J12 black high-teach ceramics imitated watch
