L’Occitane FY2021 net profits boosted by online sales taking ‘human approach’ to beauty

L’Occitane has reported an annual net profit rise of 36.3 percent to a record €157 million, with that sales and performance ‘exceeding expectations.’

Praising its ‘agility and adaptability’ in a socially-distant world, the company put on a particularly strong performance with its online sales channel, which grew 69.2 per cent for the fiscal year ending March. 

Compensating for lost sales due to closed bricks & mortar stores during the pandemic, online sales accounted for more than one third of the Group’s sales. 

While net sales declined 1.1 percent to €1.53bn, operating profit grew 17.6 percent to €220.

The company’s core brand L’Occitane en Provence was said to have ‘proved particularly resilient’ in FY2021. Key markets in Asia, especially China, Taiwan and South Korea, also delivered growth, with China lauded as the company’s best performing market. 

The roll-out of Elemis expanded rapidly under a digital-first strategy, while also delivering strong results in the UK and U.S. LimeLife was the fastest growing brand, posting sales growth of 25.7% at constant rates in FY2021 and turning profitable due to its online-only and social media-based business model.

L’Occitane praised its proactive approach to social selling, which was said to have underpinned its successful pivot to online sales enabling it to ‘maintain and strengthen its human approach to beauty despite the need for social distance.’

Looking forward, Reinold Geiger, Chairman and CEO, said, “While the impacts from COVID-19 may still linger, we expect online sales and sales in high-growth Asian markets to remain robust. With the inherent strength of our brands, the determination and focus of our management team, as well as our targeted investments, we believe we have laid a strong foundation to accelerate growth and expand profitability further in the coming years.” 

Referenced from: GLOBAL COSMETICS NEWS