07.30.07
14. Clarins
France
www.clarins.com
Sales: $1.2 billion
Sales:
$1.2 bilion. Net income: $279 million.
Key Personnel:
Christian Courtin-Clarins, chairman, management board; Dr. Olivier Courtin-Clarins, managing director, research and development; Pierre Milet, managing director, administration and finance; Lionel de Benetti, chief industrial officer; Patrick Bizot, president, Clarins brand; Vera Strübi, president, Thierry Mugler Parfums and Stella Cadente Parfums; Gérard Delcour, president, Azzaro.Major Products:
Skin care, fine fragrance, color cosmetics and sun care products sold under such brand names as Clarins, Thierry Mugler, Azzaro and Stella Cadente.New Products:
Skin care—Expertise 3P, Stretch Mark Control, ClarinsMen Skin Difference, Smoothing Body Scrub, Redefining Body Care, Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch; Color cosmetics—Lip Colour Tint, Express Compact foundation; Fragrances—Summer Flash, Innocent Secret.
Comments:
Sales fell 3.1%. Skin care accounted for 57.6% of sales, followed by perfumes (33.5%) and makeup (8.9%).Skin care sales rose 10% last driven by new product introductions, and excellent sales of face and body care products. Several additions to the Super Restorative line, including Night & Day Creams Very Dry Skin, Day Cream SPF 20 and Total Eye Concentrate, provided a lift. Sales of Clarins Men rose 5.8%, helped along by strong sales of Moisture Balm, Moisture Gel and Skin Difference. Color cosmetics sales increased 1.4% due, in part, to the launch of a new line of lipsticks. Fragrance sales fell less than 1%, but the company noted that sales soared 23% the previous year. Still, Thierry Mugler’s Angel and Alien maintained market-leading positions. To maintain its edge, Thierry Mugler launched Innocent Secret on an exclusive basis with Victoria’s Secret. Sales of Azzaro rose 2.2%.
By region, Europe represented 63.6% of sales, followed by North America, (18.5%); Asia, 11.3% and other, 6.6%. Sales in Europe were up 4.4% due to a solid 7.7% gain in beauty sales. Sales in Asia rose 14.2%, but North American sales plunged 28.4%, due to a decrease in the number of doors from the Federated and May merger. Sales in other countries rose 2.5%.
For the first quarter of 2007, sales rose less than 1% due to a 40% decline in perfume distribution sales. Discounting that disappointment, however, and sales increased 4%. Beauty division sales rose 6.5%, but perfume sales fell 2%.