LVMH attributed its slight growth in beauty once again to a combination of innovation and its selective retail strategy. As with its competitors, the ongoing slowdown in China appears to have weighed on growth, with Asia (outside Japan) shrinking its weight in the company’s beauty business for the fifth year in a row, down to 30% last year, compared with 33% a year earlier and as much as 45% in 2020.
The division’s profit margin also declined, to 8%, from 8.6% in 2023.
LVMH said star brand Dior did well, with men’s fragrance Sauvage boosted by the launch of Sauvage Eau Forte, and J’adore bolstered by a new ad campaign featuring Rihanna, who took over from Charlize Theron as its face. Theron, meanwhile, who has partnered with Dior for two decades, was named the face of its skin care and jewelry, and fronted a new campaign for its renamed Capture skin care franchise. High-end scent line La Collection Privée Christian Dior was boosted by the launch of the highly concentrated Esprits de Parfum range. Dior’s makeup was buoyed by new products in the Forever range of base products, while skin care gained momentum at the top of the market thanks to Prestige, especially in Asia. Dior sought to consolidate its position with a new point-of-sale concept and enhanced omnichannel operations. It opened its first beauty only store in North America, in New York’s SoHo, in the fall.
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Guerlain’s fragrances grew well, with high-end line L’Art & La Matière expanded with two new scents and Florabloom added to the Aqua Allegoria collection. In makeup, Rouge G was relaunched and the Terracotta and KissKiss lines grew, the latter bolstered by the launch of Bee Glow Oil for lips, which sold out globally after one month. Givenchy gained ground in fragrance, boosted by L’Interdit and its new L’Interdit Absolu scent. In makeup, the brand was “resilient,” LVMH said, and benefitted from the relaunch of Prisme Libre powder, which helped it gain market share, especially in Europe. Benefit grew thanks to innovation and its bestsellers. Maison Francis Kurkdjian opened a new store in Paris, launched the APOM fragrance and engaged in initiatives to promote its flagship scents including Baccarat Rouge 540. Loewe Perfumes saw strong growth thanks to expansion in Asia. Fenty Beauty launched in China and added a hair care line, Fenty Hair. Fendi launched its first fragrances in more than a decade, a high-end collection with refillable bottles available only in its own retail to tie in with the Roman house’s centenary this year.
Romain Spitzer, CEO of LVMH Fragrance Brands, where he is in charge of Parfums Givenchy and Kenzo Parfums, saw the scope of his job expanded with the inclusion of new ventures to support other divisions of the group with innovation and business development expertise. Stéphanie Medioni, who as executive president oversees Acqua di Parma, Parfums Loewe, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Make Up For Ever, Officine Universelle Buly, Fresh and Benefit, added transversal functions including CMI, media, retail and omnichannel to her remit.
