10.17.24
The Estée Lauder Companies is #3 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2024 Report.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
#3 The Estée Lauder Companies
New York, NY
www.elcompanies.com
Still, Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer, reported that momentum continued in EMEA and Latin America markets, with strong acceleration in Asia/Pacific. “For full-year fiscal 2023, we delivered organic sales growth and prestige beauty share gains in many developed and emerging markets, but Asia travel retail pressured results, particularly in Skin Care, and we continued to experience softness in North America,” he says. “Fragrance excelled, up double digits in every region, and Makeup improved sequentially to double-digit growth in the fourth quarter as more markets emerged into the post-pandemic era.”
Category-wise, skincare accounted for 52% of sales, followed by makeup (28%), fragrance (16%), and hair care (4%).
Skincare net sales dropped 17% due to declines from Estée Lauder, La Mer and Dr. Jart+, and major challenges in the Asia travel retail business. The Ordinary was a bright spot, partially offsetting skincare declines in every geographic region, as was the launch of MAC Hyper Real products.
Makeup net sales fell 3%, primarily due to the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation. Net sales growth from MAC and Clinique was offset by the declines from Estée Lauder, Tom Ford, and La Mer.
Fragrance net sales rose 14%, led by Tom Ford, Estée Lauder, and Le Labo, but sales were offset by the impact of the license terminations in 2022 related to certain ELC designer fragrances of 9% and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation of 4%.
Hair care net sales increased 6%, reflecting growth from both The Ordinary and Aveda.
The legacy company expanded its sales outreach by making its Dr. Jart+, Bumble and Bumble, Too Faced, and Clinique brand products available in the U.S. Amazon Premium Beauty store.
A bright spot was in June, when Estée Lauder Cos. completed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Deciem, owner of The Ordinary skincare brand, which Lauder had held a majority of ownership in since 2021. During a restructuring period that saw the layoff of more than 3,000 global employees, Lauder announced the appointment of Akhil Shrivastava to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July. He succeeds Tracey T. Travis, who retired.
Peter Hawkings, Creative Director at Tom Ford, also stepped down in July. Hawkings had been with the company since its inception, and at the helm of creative since April 2023.
In August 2024, CEO Fabrizio Freda announced that he would retire at the end of fiscal 2025. He’s served at the company for 16 years. His replacement has not yet been announced.
ELC continues to make progress with its sustainability goals. As of fiscal 2023, and excluding recent acquisitions, 71% of its packaging by weight is now recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable.
“In this new fiscal year, we also intend to set the stage for a stronger fiscal year 2025 acceleration, with a very robust innovation pipeline planned across the two years, and progressive margin rebuilding plans.”
According to ELC’s Q3 report, net sales had dipped 5% to $11.7 billion. And although the company projected a sales increase of 5-9% for Q4 2024 versus Q4 2023, it expected a full year net sales to reflect a 3-2% decrease compared to 2023.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
#3 The Estée Lauder Companies
New York, NY
www.elcompanies.com
Beauty Sales:
$15.9 BillionKey Personnel:
- William P. Lauder, Executive Chairman
- Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Roberto Canevari, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain
- Carl Haney, Executive Vice President, Research, Product and Innovation Officer
- Rashida La Lande, Executive Vice President and General Counsel
- Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Executive Group President
- Jane Lauder, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Marketing and Chief Data Officer
- Leonard Lauder, Chairman Emeritus
- Ronald S. Lauder, Chairman, Clinique Laboratories, LLC
- Sara Moss, Vice Chairman
- Michael O’Hare, Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources
- Gregory F. Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain
- Deirdre Stanley, Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
- Meredith Webster, Executive Vice President, Global Communications and Public Affairs
Major Products/Brands:
Prestige cosmetics, skincare, fragrance and hair care under brands including Aerin Beauty, Aramis, Aveda, Becca, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and Bumble, Clinique, Darphin, DKNY, Donna Karan, Dr. Jart+ and Have & Be, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, Ermenegildo Zegna, Estée Lauder, La Mer, Glamglow, Jo Malone, Killian Paris, Kiton, Lab Series, Le Labo, MAC, Métallique, Michael Kors, NIOD, Origins, Poppy and Barley, Rodin, Smashbox, The Ordinary, Tom Ford Beauty, Tommy Hilfiger, Too Faced, Tory Burch.New Products:
- Les Éternels de Balmain
- Aerin Amber Musk Santal
- Mediterranean Honeysuckle Tiare
- Aveda Invati Ultra Advanced Collection
- Vibe Collection
- Bumble and Bumble Bb Seaweed
- Clinique: Black Honey Collection
- Donna Karan DKNY 24/7, Cashmere Collection
- Estée Lauder Advance Night Repair Overnight Treatment
- Jo Malone Orange Marmalade, Ginger Biscuit
- Killian Born to be Unforgettable, Imperial Tea
- Le Labo Coraindre 39, Myrrhe 55
- Michael Kors Pour Femme, Michael Kors Pour Homme
- Tom Ford Electric Cherry, Vanilla Sex
- Tory Burch Essence of Dream Middle Eastern collection
- Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl Vibrant Summer
Comments:
While The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) reported net sales of $15.9 billion for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, it was a 10% decrease from its $17.7 billion in net sales the prior year.Still, Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer, reported that momentum continued in EMEA and Latin America markets, with strong acceleration in Asia/Pacific. “For full-year fiscal 2023, we delivered organic sales growth and prestige beauty share gains in many developed and emerging markets, but Asia travel retail pressured results, particularly in Skin Care, and we continued to experience softness in North America,” he says. “Fragrance excelled, up double digits in every region, and Makeup improved sequentially to double-digit growth in the fourth quarter as more markets emerged into the post-pandemic era.”
Category-wise, skincare accounted for 52% of sales, followed by makeup (28%), fragrance (16%), and hair care (4%).
Skincare net sales dropped 17% due to declines from Estée Lauder, La Mer and Dr. Jart+, and major challenges in the Asia travel retail business. The Ordinary was a bright spot, partially offsetting skincare declines in every geographic region, as was the launch of MAC Hyper Real products.
Makeup net sales fell 3%, primarily due to the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation. Net sales growth from MAC and Clinique was offset by the declines from Estée Lauder, Tom Ford, and La Mer.
Clinique and MAC both contributed to net sales growth.
Fragrance net sales rose 14%, led by Tom Ford, Estée Lauder, and Le Labo, but sales were offset by the impact of the license terminations in 2022 related to certain ELC designer fragrances of 9% and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation of 4%.
Hair care net sales increased 6%, reflecting growth from both The Ordinary and Aveda.
2024 Highlights:
2024 was a challenging year for Lauder, which was hit with both diminished sales and falling stock prices.The legacy company expanded its sales outreach by making its Dr. Jart+, Bumble and Bumble, Too Faced, and Clinique brand products available in the U.S. Amazon Premium Beauty store.
A bright spot was in June, when Estée Lauder Cos. completed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Deciem, owner of The Ordinary skincare brand, which Lauder had held a majority of ownership in since 2021. During a restructuring period that saw the layoff of more than 3,000 global employees, Lauder announced the appointment of Akhil Shrivastava to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July. He succeeds Tracey T. Travis, who retired.
Peter Hawkings, Creative Director at Tom Ford, also stepped down in July. Hawkings had been with the company since its inception, and at the helm of creative since April 2023.
In August 2024, CEO Fabrizio Freda announced that he would retire at the end of fiscal 2025. He’s served at the company for 16 years. His replacement has not yet been announced.
ELC continues to make progress with its sustainability goals. As of fiscal 2023, and excluding recent acquisitions, 71% of its packaging by weight is now recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable.
Looking Ahead:
For fiscal 2024, Freda said he expected a return to organic sales growth and sequentially improving margins throughout the year. “We are focused on driving momentum in markets that are thriving and re-accelerating growth in North America,” he said. “In Asia travel retail, we are taking actions to capture demand from the returning individual travelers and continuing to reduce inventories in the trade as we navigate the current market headwinds.“In this new fiscal year, we also intend to set the stage for a stronger fiscal year 2025 acceleration, with a very robust innovation pipeline planned across the two years, and progressive margin rebuilding plans.”
According to ELC’s Q3 report, net sales had dipped 5% to $11.7 billion. And although the company projected a sales increase of 5-9% for Q4 2024 versus Q4 2023, it expected a full year net sales to reflect a 3-2% decrease compared to 2023.
