THE WHAT? Shiseido has reported its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The J-beauty giant said it had made a ‘solid start’ to 2024 amid steady market recovery, with net sales up 3.2 percent like-for-like to ¥249.5 billion although core operating profit dropped 9.6 percent to ¥11.3 billion.

THE DETAILS In terms of brand performance, Drunk Elephant was among the highlights, growing 30 pecrent, while Elixir put on 3 percent, Nars gained 1 percent and the fragrance portfolio saw sales rise 21 percent. Shiseido’s eponymous brand saw net sales decline 5 percent while IPSA’s sales plummeted 22 percent.  

THE WHY? Shiseido said that, while Japan delivered robust growth (+20 percent) and Americas (+9 percent) and EMEA (+17 percent) continued momentum, sales declined 3 percent in China as anti-Japanese sentiment continued in the wake of the treated water scandal and travel retail sales continued to dwindle, down 31 percent.