The anti-aging industry ushered in policy dividends
The scale of the silver economy is growing, and the anti-aging industry has unlimited potential.
Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Improving the Well-being of the Elderly" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), focusing on the diversified virtual bodies of the elderly and cultivating potential industries, which mentions "promoting the research and development of cosmetic raw materials, formula and production process design and development". Some senior industry insiders said that this is the first time to support the development of anti-aging related industries from the national level, and it is of great significance for the future development of the field of cosmetics anti-aging.
At present, the scale of the mainland's silver economy is about 7 trillion yuan, accounting for about 6% of GDP. According to a report by the Institute of Aging at Fudan University, the mainland's silver economy has about three to four times the growth potential in the next decade.
With the continuous improvement of consumers' awareness of anti-aging care, whitening, anti-aging, soothing and anti-allergy effects are highly sought after. According to the data of blue eye intelligence of beauty vertical self-media, the average annual growth rate of the anti-aging market in 2017~2022 will exceed 10%. However, although beauty giants such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder have long laid out the anti-aging field, most of their products target young and middle-aged groups, and less target the silver-haired group.
Bloomage Biotech, which accounts for nearly half of the market share of hyaluronic acid raw materials, said that with the acceleration of the aging process in mainland China, the scale of the medical market with strong age-related to patients such as ophthalmology and orthopedics will continue to grow. Hyaluronic acid is widely used in ophthalmology, orthopedics and other medical fields, and the demand for related medical end products will continue to grow.
It can be seen that the "Opinions" put forward guiding opinions on the relevant fields and products involved in the silver economy, and also provided ideas for beauty companies that are currently looking for new growth points.
LVMH's performance growth is back on track
After the "wild run" ended, the luxury market began to "jog".
On January 28, LVMH, the world's largest luxury group, released its 2023 annual performance report, with sales revenue increasing by 9% year-on-year to a record 86.2 billion euros, and net profit increasing by 8% year-on-year to 15.2 billion euros.
Despite solid growth in all aspects, LVMH slowed significantly last year compared to the 23% growth rate in 2022. In response, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of the group, said in the latest conference call: "The average organic growth rate of the LVMH group over the past 35 years is 9.1%, and this is the historical trend. Now we are approaching it. He stressed, "I'd rather the brand grow slowly but steadily, rather than 'pull out the seedlings'." ”
By region, Asia remains LVMH's largest consumer market, with (excluding Japan) contributing the highest revenue of €26,707 million, or 31% of Group revenue, up 1% compared to 2022. Notably, Japan contributed 28% organic growth last year, demonstrating the vitality of this established market in luxury consumption, while Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) also recorded 18% organic growth.
Despite the volatility of the Chinese market, the number of customers from China has doubled before the pandemic and the share of business from tourists has declined, indicating a significant increase in domestic purchases, which LVMH said Louis Vuitton and Dior are considering opening larger stores in China to meet this demand.
"Growth is not necessarily our goal, it is to be desired – people have to aspire to this brand, whether it is Louis Vuitton, Dior or others. Arnault said.
China's luxury market is gradually recovering
With the gradual recovery of outbound tourism, the return of a large number of tourists has led to the recovery of luxury consumption.
On January 24, Bain & Company released the "2023 China Luxury Market Report", which showed that the luxury market in Chinese mainland will usher in recovery in 2023 and is expected to achieve a year-on-year growth of 12%. Chinese mainland's luxury market is expected to achieve mid-single-digit growth this year.
In the first half of last year, China's luxury market rebounded strongly, with sales growth of 30%~35% in the second quarter. However, in the second half of the year, the development momentum weakened significantly, and decreased by 5%~10% in the third quarter. The "rollercoaster" ups and downs have also added a certain amount of uncertainty to the luxury market this year.
In terms of categories, sales of all luxury goods categories rebounded due to the continuous rise in prices, but the momentum of different tracks varied greatly. Among them, fashion and jewelry increased by 10%~20%, which performed well, and the recovery of watches was weak, with an increase of 5%~10%. In the face of differences, brands need to find direction in the diversity of consumer needs and flexibly adjust their business strategies.
Bain predicts that by 2030, China will become one of the world's leading luxury markets, with the proportion of Chinese mainland consumers in the global total increasing to 35~40%, and the proportion of the mainland market increasing to 24~26%.
Brazilian beauty giant to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange
The beauty industry is evolving at an accelerated pace, with a few happy and a few sad.
Brazilian beauty giant Natura &Co has announced that its board of directors approved on January 18 a plan to stop listing on the New York Stock Exchange as American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and maintain its listing on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. "Delisting from the New York Stock Exchange is in line with the company's long-term strategy to streamline operations," the group said. Natura's trading volume on the NYSE continues to dwindle, and maintaining its listing is no longer an attractive option. ”
In 2022, Natura's performance declined for four consecutive quarters. In 2023, in order to simplify operations, the group sold Aesop and The Body Shop, with the former being sold for 2.58 billion yuan, making it L'Oréal's largest acquisition to date. However, according to the latest financial report, after the two major brands were sold, Natura's overall revenue last year was still declining.
As the easiest track to gain new users, the beauty market has changed in the past few years, with luxury brands reclaiming beauty licenses and not sharing the cake with others, niche brands being chased by large groups and constantly acquiring, and domestic brands performing well and counterattacking in sales...... In a constantly changing market, it is becoming more and more difficult to become an honor student. The Estee Lauder Group's revenue has declined severely, and Natura has fallen all the way in the top 10 list of global cosmetics and is about to fall out of the top 10.
The third generation of the Bulgari family set up a trust
Nicola Bulgari, the third generation of the Italian fine jewellery and watch brand Bulgari's founding family, began to make arrangements for her death. Recently, he created four trusts and transferred 100% of Annabel Holding's shares to the trusts.
One of the main assets of the 82-year-old Bulgari heir is Annabel Holding, which is currently worth around 86 million euros in assets and has a net worth of 54.2 million euros. Three of the four trusts have three daughters whose year of birth is suffixed, and each receives a 16.66% stake in Annabel Holding.
Nicolas is the grandson of Bulgari's founder, Sotirio, whose father led Bulgari out of Rome and Italy to lay the foundations for overseas markets. The third generation of the Bulgari family (three brothers) took the helm in 1967, and the eldest son, Gianni, was Chairman and CEO of the Bulgari Company in the 70s, driving the family business to the international market and into the world of fine watchmaking. However, due to the discord with his two younger brothers, he transferred the company's shares to the brothers and set up his own business.
In 2011, the Bulgari family sold 50.4% of its control to LVMH for 3.7 billion euros, in exchange for which the Bulgari family became the second largest family shareholder of LVMH. Currently, the second sons, Paolo and Nikolai, are family members and remain Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bulgari Maison.
Although it was acquired by a large group, the descendants of the Bulgari family are still active in the jewelry industry. Sotirio's granddaughter, Marina, left the family business after her father's death and founded her own brand, Marina B, in 1977. Her nephew, Giorgio's son, also founded Giorgio B, a haute couture jewellery brand, in 2017.
(Picture from the brand's official website)