CBO reporter Guo Fen
In the first quarter, affected by successful marketing campaigns in China New Year, Valentine's Day and Women's Day, L'Oréal Outperformed the beauty market, achieving double-digit growth in the Chinese mainland market, further consolidating its leading position in the Chinese market.
On April 19, L'Oréal Released its financial results for the first quarter of 2022.
L'Oréal performed strongly in the first quarter, achieving sales of €9.06 billion (APPROXIMATELY RMB62.545 billion), up 13.5% year-on-year and reporting an increase of 19.0%. In this regard, Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L'Oréal Group, said that the group once again outperformed the beauty market and was full of confidence in continuing to surpass the market in 2022 and achieving further growth in sales and profits.
01
All business units and regions achieved growth in the first quarter Chinese mainland double-digit growth in the market
L'Oréal Group's first-quarter financial report showed that its four major business units: L'Oréal Luxe, Consumer Products, Active Cosmetics and Professional Products all achieved significant growth, achieving sales of 3.463 billion euros (about 23.977 billion yuan), respectively. 3.302 billion euros (about 22.862 billion yuan), 1.252 billion euros (about 8.668 billion yuan), 1.041 billion euros (about 7.208 billion yuan), the growth rate was 6.9%, 17.5%, 18.0% and 17.6%.
By region, five regions, including Europe, North America, North Asia, SAPMENA-SSA4 (South Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa), and Latin America, also achieved growth, with sales of 2.854 billion euros (about 19.76 billion yuan), 2.203 billion euros (about 15.253 billion yuan), 2.801 billion euros (about 19.393 billion yuan), respectively, 681 million euros (about 4.715 billion yuan) and 519 million euros (about 3.593 billion yuan), with growth rates of 16.4%, 12.6%, 9.4%, 15.8% and 22.2%.
In addition, in the first quarter, L'Oréal's offline sales recovered significantly, and e-commerce continued to grow, accounting for 25.8% of sales.
From a geographical point of view, the European market is still L'Oréal's largest market, accounting for about 31.5% of the total market; the North Asian market is second, accounting for about 30.91% of the total market, followed by the North American market, accounting for about 24.31% of the total market.
In the North Asian market, despite some headwinds due to the epidemic, strict lockdowns and travel restrictions were imposed in several Chinese cities in February and March, which put pressure on the market. However, L'Oréal continued to outperform the beauty market with successful marketing activities in New Year's, Valentine's Day and Women's Day, achieving double-digit growth in the Chinese mainland market, further consolidating its leading position in the Chinese market, and expanding its online and offline market share. Meanwhile, in Hainan, L'Oréal outperformed the travel retail market, which is still very active.
02
Lancôme continues to consolidate China's leading position
The acquisition of new brands shows strength
From the perspective of the four major segments, L'Oréal's luxury products division continued to maintain the first contribution rate of sales in the first quarter, with a year-on-year increase of 17.5%, achieving sales of 3.463 billion euros (about 23.977 billion yuan), better than the global luxury beauty market.
Specifically, the strength and complementarity of the brand portfolio have enabled the division to gain a growing market share. Haute couture brands YSL, Armani, Prada and Valentino are growing significantly faster than their markets. Lancôme has also consolidated its leading position in Chinese mainland and its position in the top three in western markets.
In terms of perfumes, L'Oréal's luxury division has consolidated its leading position with the success of "blockbuster" high-end products for men and women, as well as the rapid growth of perfumes such as Maison Margiela Replica and Armani Privé.
In terms of skincare products, in addition to the strong growth of the star product range of ultra-high-end brands such as Lancôme and Helena, the newly acquired brands Takami and Youth to the People (L'Oréal entered the game!). "Vegan" beauty outlet is coming) also shows real promise. In terms of makeup, Shu Uemura and Urban Decay grew strongly.
At the same time, the financial report shows that the luxury products division achieved balanced growth in geographical regions such as North America and Europe. At the end of March, the division's share of the North Asian market, which includes the Chinese market, reached a record high.
03
The strong growth of Skin Spring and Skin Skin is promoted
Active Products Segment Growth 18% in Q1
According to the financial report, in the first quarter results, the active products division ranked first in the growth rate with a growth rate of 18%, achieving sales of 1.252 billion euros (about 8.668 billion yuan), which exceeded the global skin cosmetics market.
Not only that, but the Active Products division also achieved double-digit growth in all regions, and also performed well in North America and SAPMENA-SSA4. In addition, in terms of channels, online sales continued to grow, and physical stores rebounded sharply driven by professional channels.
On the brand side, La Roche-Posay grew strongly thanks to the continued success of the Cicaplast and Effaclar product lines and the launch of its groundbreaking innovation, UVmune Sunscreen; at the same time, CeraVe maintained excellent momentum in all regions thanks to last year's solid performance; and the solid performance of Dercos and sunscreens drove Vichy's growth.
In addition, L'Oréal's other two divisions, the Specialty Products division and the Consumer Products division, also performed well. Among them, in the specialty products segment, hair care remains the main growth driver. Serie Expert of L'OréalProfessionnel and Redken's Prescriptions, as well as the launch of new Kérastase products, have boosted growth.
In the consumer products segment, despite supply difficulties, the segment started the year very positively in Europe and the United States. In North Asia, it was affected by the slowdown of some e-commerce in Chinese mainland.
In terms of brands, all major brands in the sector continue to grow. L'Oréal Paris has a strong momentum in the field of hair care, and the Hyaluron Plump series has achieved outstanding success. In the field of makeup, the True Match serum has also been a success. Thanks to the global success of Fast Bright and its Vitamin C Brightening Serum, Garnier has shown significant growth in the skincare sector. Maybelline New York and NYX Professional Makeup have both reinvigorated the makeup category, with the launch of Colossal Curl Bounce Mascara and Bare With Me Concealer Serum also being very successful.