By Jamie Matusow, Editor-in-Chief10.17.24
L'Oréal is #1 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2024 Report
Below is a look at the company's highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
Key Facts
- L'Oréal Groupe, based in France, has 36 brands in 150 countries—and 88,000 employees.
- BEAUTY SALES: $45 Billion
In another record-breaking year, net sales rose more than 7%. By division, Consumer Products and L’Oréal Luxe each accounted for nearly 38% of sales. Professional Products and Dermatological Beauty contributed about 12% each.
Company Highlights
Key Personnel at L’Oréal Groupe
- Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer
- Barbara Lavernos, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
- Christophe Babule, Chief Financial Officer
- Ezgi Barcenas, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer
- Vincent Boinay, President, North Asia Zone & Chief Executive Officer
L’Oréal China:
- Cyril Chapuy, President, Luxe Division
- Myriam Cohen-Welgryn, President, Dermatological Division
- Vianney Derville, President, Europe Zone
- Asmita Dubey, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer
- Emmanuel Goulin, President, Travel Retail
- David Greenberg, President, North America & Chief Executive Officer, L’Oréal USA
- Silvia Galfo, President, Luxe Division USA
- Nathalie Gerschtein, President, Consumer Products NA
- Omar Hajeri, President, Professional Products
- Alexis Perakis-Valat, President, Consumer Products
- Ersi Pirishi, President, Latin America
- Vismay Sharma, President, South Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa
L’Oréal Groupe Has 4 Major Divisions
There are 36 international brands (across 150 countries on five continents), divided into 4 Divisions:
- Luxe
- Consumer Products
- Dermatological Beauty
- Professional Products
Brands include:
L’Oréal Paris, L’Oréal ProfessionnelGarnier, Maybelline, NYX, Essie, IT Cosmetics, Urban Decay
Dark and Lovely, Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, Pureology, Pulp Riot
Kiehl’s, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, Shu Uemura, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, CeraVe SkinCeuticals, Skinbetter Science, Youth to the People, Takami, Carita Paris, Aesop
Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Mugler, Viktor&Rolf, Valentino
Cacharel, Azzaro, Diesel, Yuesai, Atelier Cologne, Maison Margiela, Prada
Sales—By Division
By division, L’Oréal said Luxe sales rose 2% as gains were impacted by weaknesses in North Asia’s lower travel retail sales in mainland China. In general, fragrances played a strong role, driven by Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre and the debut of Myslf, as well as Born in Roma by Valentino, Paradoxe by Prada, Wanted by Azzaro, and Angel by Mugler.In Skincare, Helena Rubinstein passed the €1 billion mark, and Takami sales jumped within the medical luxury skincare segment. Makeup sales picked up in the second half of the year, driven by couture brands. More recently the addition of brands including Prada, Takami, and Valentino made strong growth contributions. Aesop, acquired a year ago, got off to a good start.
Consumer Product Sales
Consumer Product sales rose 8.2%—the division’s strongest growth in more than 30 years. All four key brands achieved double-digit gains, with L’Oréal Paris crossing the €7 billion mark.All major categories posted strong growth, but makeup led the way with launches like Surreal Mascara by Maybelline New York, Infallible Matte Resistance lipstick by L’Oréal Paris, and Fat Oil gloss by NYX Professional Makeup.
Hair care sales were helped by launches like Elvive Bond Repair by L’Oréal Paris and Garnier Good hair color. Skincare grew significantly, with the successful global rollout of Garnier Fast Bright with Vitamin C, as well as the launches of Revitalift Clinical and Glycolic Bright by L’Oréal Paris.
Sales in the Dermatological Beauty division rose an enviable 25.5%. L’Oréal said division sales grew twice as fast as the dermo-cosmetics market, delivering its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
Three of L’Oréal’s dermatological beauty brands were among the top four most-recommended brands by dermatologists. La Roche-Posay was the greatest contributor to growth, due to the debut of UVmune400 sun care, and the relaunch of Cicaplast. CeraVe became the No. 1 skincare brand in the world. Vichy reported its best growth in 18 years.
Professional Division Sales
Professional division sales increased by 4%, driven by the two largest brands, L’Oréal Professionnel and Kérastase. Haircare also remained strong, with gains driven by premium products (especially Kérastase’s Genesis and Chronologiste brand franchises).Launches such as Metal Detox and Absolut Repair Molecular also did well. Hair color sales were driven by Shades EQ by Redken and Inoa by L’Oréal Professionnel.
By Region
By region, sales in Latin America jumped 22.8%, followed by South Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa (16.4%), Europe (13.7%) and North America (9.7%). Only North Asia reported a decline in sales (-5.8%).
As of May 2024, Kiehl’s now has an Amazon storefront.
Company Highlights 2023-2024
Facing challenges in China and elsewhere, in September 2023, L’Oréal announced several Q1 2024 changes within the Groupe’s Executive Committee, in addition to the creation of the new role of Deputy CEO in Charge of Divisions-L’Oréal China, given to Laurence Ma.Fabrice Megarbane was appointed Chief Global Growth Officer; he succeeded Frédéric Rozé, who had announced his plans for retirement after 38 years with the Groupe. Megarbane had been CEO of L’Oréal China since 2019, and President of the North Asia Zone since 2021. Vincent Boinay was appointed President of the North Asia Zone and Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal China. Emmanuel Goulin was appointed President of Travel Retail.
In October 2023, L’Oréal sold the “green” beauty brand Sanoflore, which they bought in 2006, to French investment fund Ekkio Capital and Sergio Calandri, Sanoflore’s new chief executive officer, who is also the founder of Inula Group, an owner of other natural product brands. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. At the time, L’Oréal said their focus would be “more on the dermatological brands in their portfolio.”
In February 2024, L’Oréal Groupe and Prada S.p.A signed a worldwide long-term license agreement for the creation, development, and distribution of the luxury beauty products for the Miu Miu brand. Following the successful collaboration with the Prada brand, Miu Miu is now joining the L’Oréal Luxe division for a new beauty chapter.
At the end of March, L’Oréal reported a 9.4% rise in first-quarter sales on a like-for-like basis, beating expectations and easing concerns about a slowdown in the world’s two largest beauty markets—the U.S. and China. The French-owned company reported sales of $11.98 billion for the first three months to the end of March.
In May, L’Oréal announced that it had adopted EcoDesignCloud by Eviden, a solution that measures the environmental footprint of point-of-sale and promotional materials, in support of its ‘L’Oréal for the Future’ sustainability ambitions. EcoDesignCloud calculates the environmental impact of point-of-sale and promotional materials throughout their lifecycle, using the internationally recognized Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology which looks at 16 criteria including CO2 emissions.
Cyril Chapuy, President, L’Oréal Luxe, noted: “As the leader in luxury beauty, re-inventing the most memorable retail experiences with the lowest environmental impact is our responsibility and we must embrace this change collectively with our suppliers and retailers worldwide. We envision that this innovation will be widely adopted by the ecosystem as the new norm for the future of luxury retail.”
At the end of July, L’Oréal’s half-year 2024 sales topped €22bn despite continued challenges in the Chinese beauty market. Sales rose by 7.5% in the first half of the year, with net profits also increasing by 8.8% to €3.65bn. Results were due in part to a standout performance from L’Oréal’s Dermatological Beauty division, which grew 16.4% on a like-for-like basis.
L’Oréal’s Consumer Products saw gains particularly in Europe, with the category up 8.3%.
La Roche-Posay remained the luxury beauty giant’s top-performing skincare brand, with CeraVe also “significantly” outperforming the global market during H1. The strong demand for skincare helped to offset difficulties in North Asia, where sales decreased 3.1%.
“Our continued strong momentum in emerging markets, Europe, and North America allowed us to more than offset the depressed beauty market in mainland China and the unfavorable comparative in travel retail,” said Hieronimus. However, he told JPMorgan investors that the French cosmetics company now “expects the global market to grow 4.5% to 5% this year, down from a prior outlook of above 5%. The rebound in China isn’t materializing as expected,” he added.
This past August, L’Oréal purchased a 10% stake in Swiss skincare company Galderma. Hieronimus said, the investment “marks an ambitious step for L’Oréal, and true to our mantra of ‘seize what is starting,’ it allows us to explore partnering in the fast-growing aesthetics market, a key adjacency to our own pure beauty play.” With this acquisition, L’Oréal gains a stake in injectable products that reduce wrinkles such as neuromodulators and fillers, including botox, for the first time.
At press time, L’Oréal announced that Chris de Lapuente, CEO, selective retailing, would retire at the end of October.
Here's a look at some of L’Oréal Groupe's recent product launches:
New Product Launches
- L’Oréal Paris Colorsonic
- Garnier Good hair color
- Vitamin C Serum
- Elvive Bond Repair
- Fructis Hair Filler
- L’Oréal Paris Panorama Mascara
- NYX Professional Makeup Duck Plump lip gloss
- Essie Nail Art Studio
- Maybelline New York Surreal Mascara
- Infallible Matte Resistance lipstick by L’Oréal Paris
- Fat Oil Gloss by NYX Professional Makeup
- Yves Saint Laurent Libre
- Lancôme La Maison de Beauté Carita
- Vichy LiftActiv B3 Serum
- La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Dark Spot Serum
- Kérastase Genesis
- Metal Detox
Looking Ahead
L’Oréal’s half-year 2024 sales rose by 7.5%, topping €22bn, despite ongoing challenges in the Chinese beauty market. The company says this was achieved in part, due to its Dermatological Beauty division, which grew 16.4% on a like-for-like basis. La Roche-Posay remained their top-performing skincare brand, with CeraVe “significantly” outperforming the global market during H1.Poor travel retail sales also affected sales growth in the first half of the year, but L’Oréal stated that the category also saw signs of improvement.
According to Hieronimus, “Our continued strong momentum in emerging markets, Europe, and North America allowed us to more than offset the depressed beauty market in mainland China and the unfavorable comparative in travel retail.
“In this context, I am particularly pleased to see the acceleration of L’Oréal Luxe, the dynamism of Consumer Products, and the continued share gains of Dermatological Beauty and Professional Products.”
Sales in Japan and Europe rose double digits in makeup and skincare. European sales were up 12.2%, led by makeup and skincare sales across Germany, Spain, the UK, and Ireland.
L’Oréal’s Consumer Products saw gains particularly in Europe, with the category up 8.3%.
Makeup sales in emerging markets including Brazil, Mexico, and India also boosted the division’s gains.
“In an environment that continues to be marked by economic and geopolitical tensions, we remain optimistic about the outlook for the beauty market and confident that our innovation power and the robustness of our multi-polar model will allow us to keep outperforming it and to achieve another year of growth in sales and profit,” said Hieronimus.
Photo of L'Oreal's US office, shown on right above, via Instagram/lorealgroupe
