Good performance by the French cosmetics group L'Oréal in the first quarter of 2021: thanks above all to e-commerce, the company saw sales grow by 5,4% to 7,61 billion euros (+10% on a comparable basis ), with good results in most of its divisions. In particular, consistently with the good time of luxury sector, whose recovery is coming sooner than others thanks above all to China, which has already returned to normal since mid-2020 and which last year saw its GDP rise despite the pandemic, unlike the US and the Eurozone, which recorded the most interesting data it's just the division L'Oréal Luxededicated to high-end beauty products.
In fact, L'Oréal owns some brands such as Lancome and Yves Saint Laurent, which have seen revenues rise by 12,4% to 2,77 billion, gaining market share in almost all geographical areas. The Professional Products division also did very well, registering an increase of 13%, while the Active Cosmetics division, which represents a smaller but very innovative segment for now, that of products connected to healthcare, rose by as much as 21,8% (+55% considering only e-commerce). In a context that "is gradually improving thanks to the vaccination campaigns", the French group therefore said it was "confident in its ability to do better than the market and achieve a year of growth in sales and earnings", as he said CEO Jean-Paul Agon.
Great leap also for online sales, which now represent more than a quarter (27%) of the group's total sales. Only the area following consumer products is down, which fell by 6,2%. From a geographical point of view, Asia-Pacific, the group's largest market, is precisely the main driver of growth, with a leap of about 19% to 2,78 billion euros. Western Europe, the group's second market, recorded a -0,1% to 1,99 billion and North America fell by 1,8% to 1,81 billion.
