Olaplex Q2 sales hit by lower demand

Olaplex has updated its full-year outlook after reporting a 48.2% decrease in net sales to £85.6 million ($109.2 million) for the second quarter ending 30 June 2023.

The company experienced a continued lower level of demand for its products, and inventory rebalancing, particularly in its professional and specialty retail channels.

For Q2, Olaplex shared the following channel results:

• Professional sales down 61.2% to £32 million ($40.9 million).
• Direct-to-consumer sales down 6.4% to £30.2 million ($38.5 million).
• Specialty retail sales down 53.7% to £23.3 million ($29.8 million).

Net sales dropped 58.7% in the US and 34% internationally.

Net income decreased 93% to £4.8 million ($6.2 million), compared to £68.7 million ($87.7 million) in the second quarter of 2022.

Looking ahead, the company now expects net sales in the range of £349-364 million ($445-$465 million), reflecting a combination of weaker than expected results in the second quarter and an assumption of lower baseline demand in the second half.

JuE Wong, President and CEO at Olaplex, said: "Our second quarter performance was below our expectations as our professional and specialty retail channels experienced slower demand and some customers right sized their inventory positions in response to current trends.

"As such, we have updated our assumptions for the remainder of the year and reduced our fiscal 2023 outlook. We are intently focused on stabilising demand trends in the second half of 2023, while increasing and optimising the mix of our marketing investments in support of this objective. As an industry-leading brand backed by science and technology, we remain confident in our long-term opportunities."