L’Occitane China sales rise, the other drop by 14.5pc

Cosmetics and skincare products company L’Occitane International reported China was the main driver of sales in the nine months ended December 31. But Hong Kong and Macau retail sales dropped by 14.5 percent.

Hong Kong travel retail business also suffered from the lower traffic in the Greater China region. In local currency terms, sales in China recorded the highest growth of 19.1 percent, the company announced.

Overall net sales in China amounted to 94.8 million euros in the nine months. China remained the fastest growing country and the primary contributor to overall growth, followed by France, Brazil, Russia and Japan, the company reported. Overall group net sales were up by 11.6 percent to 984.7 million euros for the nine months of the financial year 2016. At constant exchange rates, the growth was 5.8 percent, L’Occitane said.

China, France, Brazil, Russia and Japan were among the countries with highest sales growth in local currencies. Overall same store sales growth was 1.8 percent. Sales through the group’s e-commerce channels grew by 17.7 percent at constant exchange rates.