Hair care specialist Olaplex saw sales surge during the first half of 2022, driven by new product launches and sales growth across its major geographies.
Net sales increased by 46.9% to US$397m for the six months ended 30 June 2022, with gross profit also up 39% to $297m.
The strong half-year performance was boosted by a 38.6% increase in net sales to $210.9m seen in Olaplex's second quarter results.
During the quarter, the brand reported sales growth of 41.3% in the US and 35.2% internationally.
Olaplex’s professional product category grew by 32.7% during Q2 to $105.5m, on the back of two new product releases.
The brand’s No. 9 Bond Protecting Nourishing Hair Serum performed particularly well, receiving positive reception from customers following its launch at the end of Q1.
Opalex said its newly launched No. 4C: Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo also helped to fill a gap in the brand’s portfolio, after it saw customers turning to other retailers for similar products.
“We are pleased to announce another excellent quarter for Olaplex, as we continue to deliver industry top tier net sales growth and profit margins,” said JuE Wong, Olaplex’s President and CEO.
“Building on the strong momentum from the first half of the year, we are re-affirming our fiscal year 2022 guidance ranges.
“This reflects the successful execution of our strategy as we disrupt the prestige haircare market with science-based, patent-protected products that are designed to fix real hair problems from first use.”
Direct to consumer sales during the second quarter saw a sales boost of 19.3% to $41.2m, driven by an uptick in customers shopping at physical stores and retail salons.
Specialty retail sales also rose by 68.5% to $64.2 due to increased product distribution at Ulta Beauty and Sephora stores.
Olaplex has raised its full-year guidance based on the strong financial performance in 2022 so far.
The brand is anticipating net sales to be between $796m to $826m, a 36% increase compared with the previous year.
“We continue to see strength in prestige beauty and the prestige hair care category as we believe consumers are prioritising their own wellbeing – even during uncertain times,” added Wong.
“We believe that our competitive advantages, leadership in a fast-growing, global category, and significant white space growth opportunities have us well positioned for future success.”
Olaplex filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to sell US$100m worth of stocks in 2021, and announced plans that it was intending to enter the 'clean' and skin care categories.
"We are also developing other potentially patentable technologies to support extension into non-hair care beauty and wellness categories that provide us with long-term growth opportunities," an spokesperson for Olaplex said at the time.
The company was previously in a legal dispute with L'Oréal over its patented ingredients since 2016.
According to Olaplex, the French cosmetics giant infringed upon trade secrets and breached a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to develop a rival line.
