Sol de Janeiro’s 200% growth boosts L’Occitane’s quarterly results

L’Occitane Group has reported revenues up 24.8% during the fourth quarter ending 31 December 2023, accelerated by Sol de Janeiro’s skyrocketing growth.

L’Occitane International manufactures and retails beauty and wellbeing products that are rich in natural and organic ingredients. Its portfolio includes household names such as L’Occitane en Provence, Sol de Janeiro and Elemis.

The group maintained its solid sales momentum in the nine months ending 31 December 2023, with net sales reaching £1,638 million (€1,915 million). This represents 18.9% growth at reported rates and 24.8% growth at constant rates.

In the three months ending 31 December 2023, net sales amounted to £721.4 million (€843.4 million), representing growth of 19.5% at reported rates and 24.6% at constant rates.

Brand breakdown:

• L’Occitane en Provence’s growth slowed slightly to 2.6% at constant rates in FY24 9M. This was the combined result of double-digit sales growth in China and holiday performances in the US and UK, partially offset by a single-digit sales decline in the EMEA region.
• Elemis returned to double-digit growth of 12% at constant rates in FY24 9M.
• Sol de Janeiro maintained its sales momentum with 199.1% growth at constant rates in FY24 9M. The brand saw triple-digit growth across all geographies, driven by a "record-breaking" holiday season and the debut of its new body cream Delicia Drench Body Butter. 
• Other brands together delivered healthy growth of 10.9% at constant rates. Erborian and L’Occitane au Brésil performed particularly well with 32.8% and 36.8% growth, respectively. Melvita also showed improvement, while LimeLife declined 21.9%.

In terms of regional performance, EMEA grew 4.3% at constant rates in FY24 9M, mainly due to Erborian and Sol de Janeiro, as well as Elemis in the UK. Excluding Russia, EMEA grew by 6.9% at constant rates.

Wholesale & others led the growth with 45.4% at constant rates in FY24 9M and online channels posted growth of 28.2% at constant rates. Retail sales maintained a steady growth of 4% at constant rates, contributed mostly by China.

André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’Occitane, said: "We delivered a decent holiday season, which enabled us to maintain our growth momentum and relative outperformance in the premium beauty market in China and other key markets. It was also pleasing to see ELEMIS return to growth in light of our ongoing premiumization strategy to support its long-term profitability.

"We will continue to build on the accelerating growth of Sol de Janeiro as we steadily expand its product and category range and the scale and reach of its distribution. We will also further build on the healthy growth of other brands, including our recently acquired luxury home fragrance brand, Dr. Vranjes Firenze, to round out our portfolio."