Beiersdorf Gains $2.3 billion in Q1 of 2022 with La Prairie Performs Well
- Chaileedo Press
- May 3, 2022
- 3 min read
Beiersdorf released its performance in the first quarter of 2022 with $2.3 billion of organic sales up 10.3%. Its high-end skincare brand La Prairie enjoyed the fastest growth. It is worth noting that La Prairie has changed its CEO to Philippe Lamy who deeply involved in China for many years.
On April 28, Beiersdorf announced its results for the first quarter of 2022, with Group sales reaching €2.2 billion (approximately $2.3 billion) and organic sales up 10.3%.
In the first quarter, sales in Africa, Asia and Australia amounted to €714 million (approximately $753 million), representing organic growth of 9%. Sales in Europe amounted to €993 million (approximately $10.47 billion), representing organic growth of 6.2%. Sales in the Americas amounted to €508 million (approximately $536 million), representing organic growth of 22.1%.
Specifically for the consumer segment, sales in Africa, Asia and Australia were €561 million (approximately $591 million), up 10.0% organically. Sales in the Americas were €441 million (approximately $465 million), up 24.3% organically. Sales in Europe were €787 million (approximately $830 million), up 7.0% organically.
Notably, Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery said that the business is facing a period of exceptional economic uncertainty, given the war in Ukraine, the partial block due to the epidemic in China, and the inflationary pressure on raw material and logistics costs.
Beiersdorf has now taken a number of measures to mitigate costs and will continue to invest in the CARE+ strategic plan. In 2021, the results of Beiersdorf's implementation of the CARE+ strategy include the successful expansion of the NIVEA LUMINOUS630 serum product line in Europe, the successful integration of the sunscreen brand Coppertone, the acquisition of the well-known beauty brand Chantecaille, etc.
By division, organic sales of the consumer division reached €1.8 billion (about $1.9 billion), up 10.3% year-on-year. Among them, product categories such as deodorant, facial cleansing and lip care recovered significantly.
Beiersdorf's core brand Nivea grew organically by 9.2% year-on-year, while the sunscreen business also showed good growth prospects. In addition, Nivea is gradually gaining market share in China and Korea.
The Eucerin and Aquaphor outperformed the market in the first quarter with strong organic sales growth of 27.5%.
Luxury brand La Prairie achieved organic sales growth of 11.1 percent. Growth was driven by the recovery of both North America and the brick-and-mortar business. In China, La Prairie further expanded its business, with a strong performance in travel retail around Hainan in particular.
Indeed, Beiersdorf announced two months ago that Philippe Lamy will take over as CEO of its luxury beauty brand La Prairie, effective April 2.
Looking at Philippe Lamy's resume, it can be seen that he has been deeply involved in the Chinese market in many companies. Earlier in his career, Philippe Lamy was Chief Operating Officer of the Chinese luxury brand "Shang Xia", a Hermès brand, for almost three years. He also spent 13 years in the L'Oréal Group, where he held various leadership positions in the Asia Pacific and Americas markets.
Beiersdorf's fiscal 2021 report showed that La Prairie achieved strong growth of 20.1% in fiscal 2021, driven by the recovery of its travel retail business. In China in particular, La Prairie posted above-average sales, as well as higher levels than before the epidemic crisis at the end of 2019.
The data shows that in the global market, La Prairie grew rapidly in 2017, 2018 and 2019, three years before the epidemic,with growth rates of 11.50%, 38.50% and 20%, respectively. It suffered with a decline of 23.9% in 2020.
While expanding new channels, La Prairie has been maintaining strong momentum in the Chinese department store channel. A department store manager said that in recent years, La Prairie in its department store system sales have increased year after year, especially the brand's beauty workshop appointments are in short supply.
The reporter also saw in the social media platform, even if La Prairie is relatively low-key, but in Xiaohongshu a large number of promotional post can be searched, especially the single product are sold for more than 10,000 yuan of Platinum Rare Haute-Rejuvenation Elixir series, which also gained widely acclaimed.
In addition to the strength of high-end skin care La Prairie, Beiersdorf also expanded the layout of the entire group. At the end of last year, Beiersdorf announced the acquisition of Chantecaille Beaute Inc, the parent company of the expensive beauty brand Chantecaille, and would operate independently under the Beiersdorf Group. Prior to this, Beiersdorf has successively acquired the U.S. sunscreen brand with Coppertone, skin care brands Skin Stories, CHAUL and O.W.N, and the German natural personal care brand STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME! At present, Beiersdorf Group already owns 20 brands.
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