L’Occitane has announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The natural cosmetics group said that it ‘maintained solid momentum’ in the first half of fiscal 2024, with sales rising 18.5 percent (reported) yoy to €1,072 million. Q2 sales increased 17.1 percent to €569.8 million.
However, behind the headline growth it’s worth noting that the group’s namesake brand saw sales drop 4.5 percent (reported) in Q2 (+2.8 percent at constant rates). Elemis, too, suffered a sales decrease of 6.4 percent (-2.4 percent at constant rates). Indeed, Sol de Janeiro’s 180.5 percent rise saved the day, with the ‘others’ category (which includes brands such as LimeLife, Melvita and Grown Alchemist), inching up 1.6 percent.
In terms of geographical performance, sales in the APAC region dropped 3.4 percent (reported; +7.5 percent at constant rates) in the three months compared to the prior-year period, while EMEA put on 2 percent and the Americas zone delivered a storming 57.2 percent rise.
André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of L’Occitane, explains, “We maintained our double-digit growth momentum despite the difficult market context. It is particularly pleasing to see Sol de Janeiro’s stellar growth accelerating amid the continued steady growth of our core brand. Meanwhile, we are committed to Elemis’s premiumization strategy and believe it will enhance its long-term growth potential and profitability.
“We remain cautiously optimistic about our prospects for FY2024 as we head into the important holiday and gifting seasons, which will be supported by higher marketing investments in key markets and channels for our core brand and the continued development of our newer brands. This will help us weather ongoing headwinds including foreign currency fluctuations and persistent inflation in certain markets.”
