On May 22, Proya Cosmetics Co., Ltd. released an announcement on the operating data of major brands in April 2023. According to preliminary calculations, in April 2023, the transaction value of the main brand Proya Tmall flagship store was about 228 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 57%; the GMV of the Douyin platform was about 135 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 40%. The GMV of the Tmall flagship store of the Caitang brand was about 45 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 95%; the GMV of the Douyin platform was about 29 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 69%. The sales momentum of all brands is improving and achieving stable growth.
On May 22, Shiseido’s official website announced that the Japanese regional headquarters responsible for supervising marketing and sales in Japan decided to conduct an absorption split. From January 1, 2024, the pharmaceutical business of Shiseido Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will be transferred to Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd. The announcement pointed out that the adoption of this measure stems from the determination of the Inner Beauty (oral beauty) field as a new growth opportunity under the medium-term business strategy “SHIFT 2025 and Beyond”.
Brazil’s antitrust agency has approved Natura&Co’s sale of its Australian beauty brand Aesop to L’Oreal Group for US$2.525 billion (approximately RMB 17.374 billion). The news was announced on May 17, according to the regulations, if no one objects, it will take effect within 15 days. It is reported that Bank of America and Morgan Stanley participated in the sale with Natura & Co, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
May 26, Ulta Beauty (ULTA.US) first-quarter revenue was US$2.63 billion, exceeding the expected US$2.62 billion; earnings per share were US$6.88, exceeding the expected US$6.87. The company expects annual revenue of 11.0-11.1 billion U.S. dollars, previously 10.95-11.05 billion U.S. dollars, the median value is slightly lower than the expected a11.1 at billion U.S. dollars; it is expected that the full-year comparable revenue will increase by 4%-5%, which is lower than the expected 5.2% %; the full-year operating profit margin is expected to be 14.5%-14.8%, up from 15% previously; the full-year earnings per share are still expected to be US$24.7-25.4, with a median lower than the expected US$25.35.
In the first quarter ending March 31, 2023, the SHISEIDO Group has finally returned to growth. During the period, the group’s revenue increased by 2.6% year-on-year to 240 billion yen (approximately RMB 12.17 billion), and its operating profit increased by 140.5% year-on-year to 10.53 billion yen (approximately RMB 530 million). From 2020 to 2022, Shiseido Group, which has gone from loss to profit, has not recovered to the pre-epidemic performance level in 2019.
On May 23, DSM Firmenich announced the appointment of Emmanuel Butstraen, the new president of its perfume and beauty business, who will take office on July 1, while retaining his position as chief integration officer in the group. In his new role, Emmanuel Butstraen will report to co-CEO Dimitri de Vreeze. Emmanuel Butstraen has worked at BASF for 17 years. He previously served as senior vice president of strategy in the agricultural products department and has served as president of Firmenich’s edible flavor business since 2018.
Japan’s KAO Group’s consumer goods business covering four business divisions including personal care and beauty cosmetics’ revenue in the first quarter was 265.3 billion yen (about 13.45 billion yuan), a slight increase of 0.9% year-on-year , operating profit fell 9.8% year-on-year to 3.4 billion yen (about 170 million yuan), mainly dragged down by the cosmetics business. Kao’s cosmetics business owns brands such as Curel, Fulifangsi, and SUQQU.
Unilever has started integrating robotics into material chemistry at its Materials Innovation Facility (MIF) in Liverpool, UK. The facility is home to more than 250 research and development specialists, as well as some robots that help create beauty products. MIF, co-founded by Unilever, the University of Liverpool and a research center in England, has the world’s largest concentration of materials chemistry robots. For the past five years, MIF has been using robotics and artificial intelligence to test and develop its products. According to data generated by the MIF, more than 200 patents were filed between 2020 and 2022, and Unilever has invested more than 100 million euros ($123.4 million) in innovation centers over the past three years.
The National Bureau of Statistics released the retail sales data of social consumer goods. In April, the total retail sales of consumer goods was 3491 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%. From January to April, the total retail sales of social consumer goods were 14983.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. In terms of cosmetics-related data, the total retail sales of cosmetics in April 2023 was 27.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.3%. From January to April, the total retail sales of cosmetics was 129.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%, showing an overall upward trend.
L’Oreal has announced that it has priced its publicly issued bonds with a total face value of 2 billion euros (about 15.188 billion yuan). The offering consists of two parts: 1 billion euros of two-year fixed-rate bonds at 3.125 percent p.a. and 1 billion euros of five-year fixed-rate bonds at 2.875 percent p.a. In a statement, L’Oréal said the proceeds raised from the bond offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Aesop.