L'Occitane sees strong growth despite tough economy
Provence-based cosmetics group L'Occitane pushed sales up 29.5% in Q1 2009 to €537m though the company has said growth in recent months has slackened in the wake of the economic crisis.
Provence-based cosmetics group L'Occitane pushed sales up 29.5% in Q1 2009 to €537m though the company has said growth in recent months has slackened in the wake of the economic crisis.
Company's president Reinold Geiger said that without the economic problems the rise would have been 40%. An overall increase in sales of about 10% is forecast for the whole year. Geiger said that in their shops, which usually recorded growth of between 20% to 30%, sales have increased by about 10% and in outlets where sales are stable they have tended to decline.
L'Occitane has 1,300 points of sale of which some 870 are company-owned and operates through affiliate enterprises in around 23. Geiger points out that while there are no problems of destocking by distributors, the fixed costs entailed in financing the network are very high. A total of 180 new boutiques were opened in 2008 and a further 100 openings are planned for this year, particularly in China where there are 40 sale outlets so far.