Estee Lauder Asia sales uphill

Estee Lauder Asia sales soared 25 percent in the year to June, with China, Hong Kong, and the emerging markets in Southeast Asia the main performers.

The more mature Japanese and South Korean markets were also “strong contributors” to the company’s result in the region.

“The company delivered strong double-digit net sales increases, both on a reported basis and in constant currency,” Estee Lauder reported in a statement. “The growth was broad-based, with all markets in the region growing and more than half up double-digits in constant currency. The Company generated double-digit net sales growth in every product category and major channel.”

Estee Lauder Asia was a standout in the company’s results, with global net sales up 9 percent to US$14.86 billion, or 12 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Net earnings rose from $1.11 billion last year to $1.79 billion.

“This was an outstanding year for our company,” said president and CEO Fabrizio Freda.

“We achieved strong net sales gains across our business, fuelled by investments in our strategic priorities, including improved data analytics that helped power our innovation and digital marketing. Our winning strategy led to continued share gains in global prestige beauty.

“With savings from our Leading Beauty Forward initiative and cost discipline throughout the organization, we grew profit far ahead of our net sales growth, while also investing in our strategic priorities,” he said.

“Many engines drove our growth. They included: nearly every market in the Asia/Pacific region and many other important emerging markets around the world; our skincare category in every region; the travel retail and online channels globally; and compelling innovations and high-quality products, which drove strong repeat purchases. Globally, three of our four largest brands grew strongly as did many of our small and mid-sized brands. Our results were particularly impressive given macro volatility and challenges in several key markets demonstrating our successful strategy of multiple engines of growth and our agility to reallocate resources to the best opportunities.”

Freda said the results capped a remarkable decade of strategic and operating achievements.

“Since launching our current strategy in 2009, we have diversified and strengthened our company, creating a solid foundation to continue our growth.”

He said the prestige beauty category continues to be one of the most desirable consumer sectors.

“As the best diversified pure-play in the industry, we are uniquely positioned to capture global share. In fiscal 2020, we plan to continue to invest in the most compelling opportunities, including those in emerging markets beyond China. We expect another year of strong net sales growth, margin improvement and a double-digit increase in earnings per share.”