Skincare proved a winner for the Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) in its second quarter with a global sales jump of 28 per cent to US$2.8 billion. The core Estée Lauder and La Mer brands enjoyed double-digit growth over the period, stoking an overall sales increase of 5 per cent to US$4.85 billion.
The multinational’s six-month sales performance reached US$8.42 billion – almost the same as the 2019 figure for the same period.
The Asia/Pacific region was the epicentre of growth, experiencing a sales surge of 35 per cent in Q2, notably in mainland China and travel retail.
The launch of the new Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex springboarded Estée Lauder to become the top-selling beauty brand on Alibaba’s Tmall during the 2020 Singles’ Day shopping festival.
La Mer was the top-selling luxury beauty brand during the Singles’ Day frenzy, driven by strong demand for The Concentrate and The Treatment Lotion.
Global makeup sales dipped 25 per cent in Q2. Fragrance lifted 6 per cent, led by double-digit and strong growth from the Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, Jo Malone, Tom Ford Beauty and Clinique brands.
We are proud to have returned to growth in our second quarter, earlier than we anticipated, demonstrating the enduring success of our multiple engines of growth strategy, said President and CEO, Fabrizio Freda.
“The powerful engines of skincare, fragrance, Asia-Pacific, travel retail and global online fuelled our performance despite the increasing complexity of the pandemic. Ten of our brands grew, signifying the broad-based strength of our portfolio, hero products and innovation, led by double-digit growth from the Estée Lauder and La Mer brands.”