In mainland China, L’Oréal reported strong double-digit growth in 2021, twice that of the beauty market. In the fourth quarter, despite a slowdown compared to a very high base in 2020, the beauty market remained much more buoyant than in 2019. In the last quarter, L’Oréal China achieved like-for-like growth of more than 50% compared with 2019. During the Double 11 festival on Tmall, L'Oréal broke all records and reported further market share gains, confirming its brands’ appeal to Chinese consumers. The iconic consumer event established L'Oréal Paris and Lancôme as the beauty market No.1 and No.3; Yves Saint Laurent took the top slot in makeup, while Kérastase led the field in haircare. Winning the Best Innovation award from ByteDance (TikTok) demonstrates L’Oréal China’s edge in terms of digital activation and brand building.
Travel Retail also continued to grow well thanks to its booming business in Hainan, while maintaining the appeal of Group brands.
The Zone grew by +13.9% like-for-like and +10.0% based on reported figures.
In SAPMENA, in a volatile context related to the resurgence of the pandemic, e-commerce accelerated. In South-East Asia, L’Oréal saw a return to pre-Covid levels in the fourth quarter, with Vietnam achieving remarkable performance, boosted by the online sales boom. The Pacific countries recovered thanks to the plans put in place to stimulate demand. India and Pakistan continued to deliver solid performance. The Gulfregion, hosting the World Expo in Dubai, maintained growth momentum.
The Consumer Products Division recorded good performance,thanks to Garnier’s haircare lines and the gradual recovery of Maybelline New York. L’Oréal Luxe reported exceptional performance in fragrances, with Yves Saint Laurent and Armani. Growth for the Professional Products Division was driven by Kérastase. The Active Cosmetics Division continued to deliver dynamic growth in skincare, powered by La Roche‑Posay and CeraVe.
The SSA Zone experienced dynamic growth over the year. The Active Cosmetics Division recorded remarkable performance, thanks to the exceptional dynamism of La Roche-Posay. L’Oréal Luxe achieved strong market share gains in fragrances in South Africa. The Consumer Products Division saw very strong performance from Dark & Lovely and Nice & Lovely, as well as Maybelline New York.
In 2021, the Zone posted strong growth: +20.6% like-for-like and +20.6% reported.
Distribution channels were fully open in the second half of the year, following the temporary store closures in the first half. Although malls and professional salons experienced lower footfall throughout the year, the beauty market nonetheless reported strong growth.
Against this backdrop, L’Oréal achieved significant market share gains, with remarkable performance in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Growth was driven by e-commerce and offline sales: the Group’s brands welcomed consumers returning to stores with targeted activation, while continuing their digital engagement and online activation, leveraging key online events such as Buen Fin and Black Friday.
Major categories posted strong growth, driven by the launch of superior innovations as well as the success of iconic brands and products, most notably in haircare, skincare and fragrances. L’Oréal Paris increased its market share gains in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, thanks to the highly successful launch of Elsève Hidra Hialurônico and the activation of Revitalift. La Roche-Posay posted significant market share gains; continuing to grow rapidly, CeraVe more than doubled its sales in the Zone.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| € millions | % 2019 sales | € millions | % 2020 sales | € millions | % 2021 sales | |
| Sales | 29,873.6 | 100.0% | 27,992.1 | 100% | 32,287.6 | 100.0% |
| Cost of sales | -8,064.7 | 27.0% | -7,532.3 | 26.9% | -8,433.3 | 26.1% |
| Gross profit | 21,808.9 | 73.0% | 20,459.8 | 73.1% | 23,854.3 | 73.9% |
| R&I expenses | -985.3 | 3.3% | -964.4 | 3.4% | -1,028.7 | 3.2% |
| Advertising and promotion expenses | -9,207.8 | 30.8% | -8,647.9 | 30.9% | -10,591.0 | 32.8% |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | -6,068.3 | 20.3% | -5,638.5 | 20.1% | -6,074.2 | 18.8% |
| OPERATING PROFIT | 5,547.5 | 18.6% | 5,209.0 | 18.6% | 6,160.3 | 19.1% |
Gross profit, at 23,854 million euros, came out at 73.9% of sales, compared with 73.1% in 2020, an improvement of 80 basis points.
Research & Innovation expenses, at 3.2% of sales, exceed one billion euros.
Advertising and promotion expenses increased by 190 basis points, at 32.8% of sales.
Selling, general and administrative expenses, at 18.8% of sales, decreased by 130 basis points.
Overall, operating profit increased by 18.3% to 6,160 million euros, and amounted to 19.1% of sales, an improvement of 50 basis points.
