The Letter To Shareholders – N°79 – Autumn 2021

Message from the
Chief Executive Officer

“With the health situation still uncertain, the beauty market is gradually recovering and has recorded double-digit growth during the first half of 2021. As a result of the determination and continued commitment of our teams, that I wish to warmly thank, L’Oréal is significantly outperforming the market, with an exceptional second quarter.

By the end of June, the Group posted a very strong increase and returned to its pre‑Covid growth rate, up +6.6% like-for-like compared to the first half of 2019, with an acceleration of +8.4% in the second quarter compared to 2019.

L’Oréal recorded market share gains in all Divisions, and geographic Zones, redefined around more homogeneous consumption areas, all achieved double-digit growth. This remarkable performance reflects the relevance and healthy balance of our multi-faceted model in terms of geographic footprint, brands and categories.

Our digital excellence has enabled brands to engage, recruit and retain consumers and partners alike. E‑commerce continues to grow, at a more moderate rate due to the reopening of retail channels, and accounts for 27.3% of sales.

The first-half results increased sharply and are of excellent quality. They are evidence of the L’Oréal virtuous circle: a strong improvement in gross margin combined with good cost control has enabled us to invest significantly in developing our brands and deliver once again an increase in profitability.

At the same time, societal and environmental engagement remains a priority. In June, we launched the very first “L’Oréal Groupe” global campaign on our Purpose (see Highlights section) and unveiled “L’Oréal For Youth”, a global programme designed to boost youth employment.

L’Oréal has again gained strength in the early part of the year and is well positioned to continue to grow at its pre-crisis pace, leveraging on technology, data and artificial intelligence to become the Beauty Tech⁽¹⁾ company. In the second half of 2021, we will pursue our offensive product launch strategy while at the same time investing in relevant growth drivers to spur the future growth and the desirability of our brands. We are more confident than ever in our ability to outperform the market and achieve a year of growth in both sales and results.”