Key insights
- US beauty and personal care sales show modest growth with volume declines, signaling potential consumer spending weakness. L'Oreal outperforms, while Unilever and Beiersdorf face challenges. Declines in consumer health categories like pain relief and respiratory products further suggest cautious consumer behavior. Overall, the data points to a slight drag on US equities due to softening consumer demand.
Goldman Sachs: Beauty and personal care sales rise modestly amid volume declines
Investing.com -- US beauty and personal care sales increased 1.6% in the four weeks ending May 16, according to Nielsen data cited by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday, though volumes declined 2.6% during the period.
Makeup sales grew 1.9%, while hair care rose 3.4% and body care advanced 3.6%. Skin care sales fell 2.5% against a tougher comparison, with volumes down 9%. Nielsen captures approximately 40% of the US beauty market and excludes online sales, which represent 28% of the market, and beauty specialists like Sephora and Ulta, which account for 16% of sales.
L'Oréal (EPA:OREP), where the US represents 25% of sales, reported 8.3% growth in the period with 10.3% volume growth. L'Oréal Paris sales rose 12.9% and La Roche-Posay jumped 31.6%, while NYX accelerated to 11.2%. Garnier and Maybelline declined modestly. CeraVe sales increased 4.9%.
Unilever (LON:ULVR) US beauty, wellbeing and personal care sales, representing 12% of group sales, declined 0.4% with volumes down 2.2%. Dove sales rose 1.5%, down from 4.9% growth in April, while Vaseline accelerated to 16% growth. Liquid IV sales fell 0.9% driven by a 7.6% decline in price and mix, and Axe remained weak, down 14%.
Beiersdorf (ETR:BEIG) US sales, accounting for 10% of company sales, decelerated to a 4.1% decline with volumes down 11.4%. Derma sales grew 7%, driven by 11.4% growth in Aquaphor. Nivea declined 2.3% with 9.4% volume decline. Coppertone fell 33.4%, losing share in US sunscreen, which declined 16.7%.
In consumer health, four-week sales declined across upper respiratory products by 5.8%, internal pain relief by 3.9%, and sexual health by 2.5%. Vitamins and supplements grew 1.3%, toothpaste rose 3.4%, and digestive care increased 0.8%. Household cleaners sales rose 1.2%, while dish care fell 0.5%. Laundry sales increased 3.2%.
Haleon (LON: HLN), with the US accounting for approximately 30% of sales, reported a 1.3% sales decline with volumes down 1.7%. Toothpaste sales rose 5%, led by Sensodyne at 3.9% and Parodontax at 26.6%. Upper respiratory sales fell 4.8%, while nicotine replacement therapy declined 13.5%.
Reckitt (LON:RKT), where the US represents approximately 31% of sales, saw sales decline 2.7% with volumes up 0.6%. Infant formula sales fell 4%, while sexual health declined 1.3% as Durex rose 9% and K-Y fell 4.4%. Household cleaning products grew 1.2%, led by Lysol at 1.1%. Laundry sales grew 11.4%.
Henkel (ETR:HEN3), with the US accounting for approximately 26% of sales, underperformed in laundry with sales down 1.3%. Detergent sales fell 2% as Purex declined 5.9% and Persil dropped 9.1%, while All rose 3.8%.