Beauty / news
Estée Lauder flags travel retail growth as Asia Pacific organic sales rise 10%
The Estée Lauder Companies reported strong travel retail growth in its fiscal first quarter, with Asia Pacific organic net sales up 10%, helped by improvements in South Korea and Hainan’s offshore duty-free online business.
On the company’s 2 November earnings call, President and Chief Executive Officer Stéphane de La Faverie said travel retail had delivered strong growth in the quarter and praised the team’s work. Global travel retail was a major contributor to the Asia Pacific region’s performance, the US beauty group said.
The company attributed the regional improvement mainly to South Korea and the Hainan offshore duty-free online business. Hainan also recorded double-digit sales growth in the first quarter, according to the earnings call discussion.
De La Faverie described the first-quarter performance as another step forward for Estée Lauder, saying growth is accelerating and profitability is strengthening significantly. He said the impact of the company’s Beauty Reimagined program is becoming increasingly evident across the business.
He added that the group has moved beyond restoring growth and is using Beauty Reimagined to build a stronger foundation for sustained, profitable growth. Travel retail is playing an integral role in that rebound, the company said, and not only in key North Asian markets.