Puig has bounced back strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Spanish fashion, fragrance and makeup multinational is the parent company and licensee of major brands including Charlotte Tilbury makeup, Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances. It is the fifth-largest fragrance maker in the world, representing 10 per cent of worldwide sales.
The company’s 2021 revenues reached 2.6 billion euros (AU$3.77 billion) – an increase of 68 per cent by contrast to 2020 and 27 per cent compared to 2019.
In 2018, Puig outlined a master plan to achieve 3 billion euros (AU$4.38 billion) in global sales by 2023. The company has revised that forecast after last year’s buoyant results, saying the target is on track to be reached by the end of this year.
In 2021, global fragrance hits including Phantom by Paco Rabanne and Scandal Pour Homme by Jean Paul Gaultier pushed up fragrance sales by 41 per cent compared to 2020. Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl also enjoyed solid growth, as did niche juices from Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur and Christian Louboutin.
Puig acquired a majority stake in Charlotte Tilbury in 2020, valuing the cult favourite at US$1 billion. 2021 was the first year the brand was integrated into the multinational’s stable and helped to fuel a 153 per cent increase in makeup sales, notably in the US and China.
The company also consolidated its skincare brands, including Uriage and Apivita, into a new Derma Division and the strategy has paid off handsomely. A surge in sales in Europe and Asia resulted in double digit growth for Puig’s skincare portfolio to 274 million euros (AU$401.5 million).
Net revenues in the US, the world’s largest single beauty market, rose 104 per cent to become Puig’s largest regional market. Sales in China increased by 212 per cent over 2020. The EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) also experienced a major boon, rising 60 per cent as leading markets recovered.
E-commerce revenues were another highlight in 2021, rising to 28 per cent of Puig’s total worldwide sales.
Puig products are sold in 150 countries, including Australia. The multinational plans to expand its online business, double down on its efforts in China and Asia and ride the wave of travel retail’s global recovery to triple its 2020 revenues by 2025.