Beiersdorf’s sales grow, despite declines in China
The German beauty and personal care multinational Beiersdorf today reported 7.1% organic sales growth for the first half of 2024, which was driven by double-digit growth from heritage skin care brand Nivea.
The company reached sales of €5.2bn, up from €4.9bn in the same period in 2023.
Sales at key brands, Nivea and its Derma segment (Eucerin and Aquaphor), grew by 11.1% and 8.3% respectively, while its luxury brand La Prairie saw its sales drop 7% due to the current decline in China's luxury skin care market.
Chantecaille, which Beiersdorf bought two years ago, also grew its sales in Q2 of 2024 in comparison to Q1.
Overall, the company's Consumer Business segment saw organic sales growth of 8% to reach €4.3bn and outperformed the market, led by Nivea’s double-digit sales growth and significant sales increases across all key regions and categories.
The business said the strong sales performance was fuelled by "continuously balanced price and volume growth."
Its Nivea brand grew significantly in Emerging Markets and in its home country, Germany, which is its biggest market.
Sales for its Derma segment increased by 7.7% to €714m and grew by double-digit figures in all markets (excluding Argentina).
The Eucerin brand also saw strong growth in the key categories sun protection and face care. And altogether, the Derma business gained significant market share in all categories.
Targeting the Indian market
The company now plans to launch products from both the Nivea and Eucerin brands into the Indian market in 2025. It is also awaiting registration for a China domestic launch for its Nivea brand.
In a similar vein to L’Oréal's recent discussion about its future sales potential, the company said it anticipates a lot of future growth in Europe in the years to come, due to its "strong innovation pipeline". It also has its sights set on emerging markets, namely Mexico, Brazil and Thailand.
Beiersdorf's e-commerce business has also continued to expand at a double-digit rate with an increase of 16% in the first six months of 2024.
La Prairie sales down: declines in China
The luxury brand La Prairie saw a decline in sales by -7% in the first half of 2024. Sales fell in nominal terms to €272m. The decline was mainly due to the considerable weakness in China. Yet despite this volatile market, La Prairie managed to outperform the market in the first half of the year.
CEO Vincent Warnery said: “The economic situation in China remains highly volatile and challenging, which was the main reason for the 7.0% decline in organic sales at La Prairie for the first six months of 2024. Noteworthy nonetheless: We outperformed the Chinese market with La Prairie in this declining environment.”
Overall, Warnery said the company’s Consumer Business segment had “continued to outperform its competition and strengthen its leading position in the skin care industry.”
"Our icon Nivea led the way with a double-digit sales increase combined with growth across all key regions and categories. These positive results more than offset the recurring headwinds in the challenging luxury market, which were particularly evident in China," he said in a statement.
Warnery also noted that Beiersdorf’s strategy was to “focus on capturing geographic white spaces and delivering breakthrough innovations” such as its in-depth research in epigenetics, pointing to its recently launched anti-ageing innovation Epicelline.
