The Tamesis
“Consumer sentiment is also picking up a little bit,” Scotti said, adding that competition in skin care and fragrances is fierce. Similarly, L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus told analysts that “China is back to positive territory and positive luxury consumption.” He added that high-end brands such as Skinceuticals and Kérastase are “sold out” as Chinese consumer confidence recovers. “In emerging [markets] In China and China, the brand has achieved high double-digit growth and continues to play a key role in attracting new consumers. “
Filippo Falorni, Citi’s U.S. beverage, household products and personal care analyst, pointed out that the Chinese market is moving towards the “mass” (high-quality, high-end or affordable ideal products, such as The Ordinary, La Roche-Posay and Dr. Jart+) and is improving. “Early checks for Chinese New Year [are] Overall it’s encouraging,” he added.
ELC CEO and President Stéphane de La Faverie said the group is focusing on “retail entertainment”, with its teams in China Travel Retail and Mainland China creating “VVIP” events to reach consumers.
Continuing to innovate in China is also a priority for Unilever. “We have made some significant interventions in the path to market for e-commerce. There is more work to be done on this front, but we expect China to be better in 2026,” Fernandez said.
Perfume preservation
The fragrance market continues to normalize in the post-pandemic boom. But opportunities still exist, especially in niche markets and the “fashion” (fashion house) subcategory.
“While we expect growth in the fragrance market to continue to normalize, we enter the new fiscal year with confidence,” Puig told analysts. The fragrance and fashion business will account for 72% of the Spanish group’s total revenue in 2025, up 6.4% year-on-year. Puig counts fragrance brands Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier as outperformers, while Byredo has seen double-digit growth in niche fragrance categories.
Growth in the fragrance market is currently “supported by an expanding consumer base, increased frequency of use and deeper penetration into emerging markets,” Nikola said.
Looking ahead, Puig is confident in its potential. “Young people and teenage boys are entering the category through TikTok, which is having an impact on sales. This makes us believe there is momentum in the category,” he said. Still, Puig faces increasing competition as the fragrance market becomes more saturated and competitors increase their marketing efforts, particularly in emerging markets such as Latin America.
As Coty embarks on a transformation under executive chairman and interim CEO Markus Strobel, the company is also betting on its fragrance business to return to profitability, capitalizing on huge opportunities in the mass category. “It is clear to me that Coty has many best-in-class assets and competitive advantages: a compelling brand, best-in-class fragrance innovation, a vertically integrated business model and a creative, entrepreneurial organization,” Strobel told investors.
