L’Oréal Luxe gained market share in its three categories. The ultra-premium brands Lancôme Absolue and Helena Rubinstein, and anti-aging innovations such as Retinol Skin‑Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum by Kiehl’s performed very well in skincare. The Division consolidated its leadership in fragrances, driven by the strength of established icons like Libre by Yves Saint Laurent and by promising launches like Alien Goddess by Mugler and Luna Rossa Ocean by Prada. In a less dynamic makeup market, performance was driven by Lancôme and Shu Uemura.
The Division strengthened its position across all Zones, recording significant market share gains in North Asia and excellent performance in Europe. Following the reorganisation of its distribution network in North America, sales are again accelerating in this Zone.
At the end of the year, L'Oréal Luxe finalised the acquisition of Youth to the People.
The Active Cosmetics Division ended the year with exceptional growth at +31.8% like-for-like and +30.3% reported.
The Division significantly outperformed a booming dermocosmetics market in 2021, with health having become a core concern for consumers. It strengthened an already solid relationship with healthcare professionals and confirm edits leadership in dermocosmetic recommendations.
Active Cosmetics posted strong growth across all Zones, with exceptional performance in North America and North Asia. Offline sales saw a return to strong double-digit growth and online sales were exceptionally buoyant, exceeding one billion euros.
The Division’s major brands reported vigorous growth. La Roche-Posay more than doubled its growth rate compared with 2020, thanks to cutting edge innovations such as Effaclar serum and Lipikar EczemaMED, which is revolutionising the treatment of eczema. Vichy strengthened its leadership in anti‑aging in Europe, particularly in skincare for menopausal women, while accelerating in Latin America and North America. SkinCeuticals continued to gather momentum, with the success of Silymarin CF confirming its antioxidant expertise. CeraVe saw spectacular growth for the second year running, in both the United States and the rest of the world.
The Zone ended the year up +10.1% like-for-like and +10.7% reported, and is almost back to its 2019 level like-for-like.
The beauty market recovered across Europe in 2021 but remained below 2019 levels. L’Oréal significantly outperformed the European market, driven by a new surge in its online sales and digital leadership. The Group strengthened its position in the vast majority of countries, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and the Scandinavian countries.
It also gained market share in all its strategic categories: skincare, haircare, makeup and fragrances.
Active Cosmetics delivered particularly dynamic growth, driven by the continued success of CeraVe and La Roche‑Posay. Despite the closure of salons in several countries at the beginning of the year, the Professional Products Division returned to significantly higher performance levels than in 2019, thanks to keen interest in its entire catalogue and the success of Kérastase and L’Oréal Professionnel innovations. L’Oréal Luxe confirmed its leadership in fragrances, with excellent starts for Alien Goddess by Mugler and Luna Rossa Ocean by Prada, and the strengthening of main stays like La Vie Est Belle by Lancôme and Libre by Yves Saint Laurent. The Consumer Products Division meanwhile continued to gain market share in makeup.
The Zone ended the year at +22.2% like-for-like and +18.1% based on reported figures.
In a year still impacted by the pandemic and supply chain pressures, the Zone recorded market share gains in all Divisions and continued to grow both online and offline, as brick‑and‑mortar outlets reopened. The strong launch plan helped win over consumers and secure their loyalty.
Thanks to the success of breakthrough innovations such as Maybelline Sky High mascara and Infallible powder by L’Oréal Paris, the Consumer Products Division reported growth over two years in the makeup category. Following the reorganisation of its distribution network, L’Oréal Luxe freed up resources allowing it to accelerate growth, with highly successful launches in the fragrances category, including Ralph’s Club by Ralph Lauren and Luna Rossa Ocean by Prada. The Professional Products Division saw tremendous growth, led by Salon Centric. Redken was a standout brand, driven by the launch of Acidic Bonding Concentrate. The Active Cosmetics Division recorded spectacular growth; CeraVe confirmed its position as the most recommended skincare brand.
The Zone ended the year at +17.6% like-for-like and +18.6% reported.
L’Oréal significantly strengthened its position across all Divisions and had a good year, despite public health restrictions and their adverse effect on footfall.
In the Zone, L'Oréal Luxe continued to gain market share, with the success of premium skincare Lancôme Absolue and Helena Rubinstein, and strong performance of Yves Saint Laurent and Shu Uemura. Kérastase was the growth driver of the Professional Products Division. Active Cosmetics growth continued, fueled by La Roche-Posay and SkinCeuticals. With a remarkable acceleration of its premium haircare range, L’Oréal Paris boosted the performance of the Consumer Products Division.
