Beiersdorf declares itself the “fastest-growing beauty company in 2023” but sees sales slowing down this year

29 Feb 2024 --- Beiersdorf reports FY2023 results, with group sales reaching a record high of €9.5 billion (US$10.3 billion) and an organic increase of 10.8%.

However, it anticipates mid-single-digit organic sales growth in the Consumer Business Segment and low-to-mid-single-digit sales growth for the Tesa Business Segment. Beiersdorf says it expects organic group sales to be in the mid-single-digit range based on the forecasts of the two business segments for this year.

Vincent Warnery, CEO of the beauty giant, says: “We continued our remarkable growth trajectory of recent years, again achieving double-digit organic sales growth in a difficult market environment. We were the fastest-growing beauty company worldwide in 2023 and kept our promise of profitable growth.”

He continues: “This success makes us confident in our vision to become the best skin care company in the world, a vision that requires continuous progress. 2023 was also a year marked by substantial strategic investments in our digital and physical infrastructure, our innovative strength, our sustainability progress and our people. These steps will ensure that we can deliver continued strong growth in the future.”

Record Nivea sales
The Consumer Business Segment witnessed double-digit sales growth for the second consecutive year, with €7.8 billion (US$8.4 billion), an increase of 12.5%. “The development was also driven by the continued success of the e-commerce business, which outperformed the market in 2023 and grew by 19%,” details the cosmetics giant.Eucerin and Aquaphor had a 24% organic sales growth (Image credit: Aquaphor).

Double-digit growth was observed in all regions and categories as the brand icon Nivea, including Labello, showed record sales of €5.2 billion (US$5.6 billion).

The Face Care category emerged as a “powerful” growth driver for Nivea, with an 18% organic increase, boosted by the Luminous series.

“The strategic recalibration of Nivea’s operating model toward a more globalized and digital approach is producing the desired results and laying the foundation for continued growth. Our Derma business also grew by 24%, which marks the third consecutive year of double-digit growth for our brands Eucerin and Aquaphor,” comments Warnery.

Beiersdorf attributes the success of Derma business’ sales to the Sun Care product line’s global performance, e-commerce business growth, demand for products containing Thiamidol and the portfolio’s success in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Additionally, Birsdorf highlights that Aquaphor sales in the US had its best year to date in 2023.

2023 rewind
Despite facing difficulties in the travel retail and mainland China markets with La Prairie and Chantecaille, Beiersdorf said it used 2023 as a transition year to optimize stock and inventory levels. Nivea surpasses €5 billion in sales — a milestone in its journey (Image credit: Nivea).

To drive growth in 2024, strategic decisions will involve:

• Expanding the travel retail business.
• Improving social commerce.
• Clearing out inventory while concentrating on product innovations.

Notable investments include the €300 million (US$325 million) state-of-the-art production site in Leipzig, the modernization of plants in Poznań, Poland, and Silao, Mexico, and a switch to SAP S/4HANA technology for efficient digital transformation.

Beiersdorf received the Triple-A rating by the nonprofit organization Carbon Disclosure Project in 2023, while it exceeded expectations in achieving gender-balanced leadership 18 months ahead of schedule, with women now constituting 50.3% of management positions.

Edited by Venya Patel

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