Alex Wynne

6 days ago | wwd.com | Alex Wynne |Jenny B. Fine |Faye Brookman |Emily Burns |Kathryn Hopkins |Noor Lobad | +5 more

Speed and agility were the buzzwords of 2024, so it's apropos that beauty sales broke the $250 billion barrier for the first time last year. But there are clouds on the horizon. What's clear from the 2024 WWD Beauty Inc Top 100, our annual ranking of the world's largest beauty companies by sales, is that the industry is undergoing seismic shifts as a result of geopolitical tensions, technological advances and a consumer landscape that is more complex than ever before.

6 days ago | wwd.com | Alex Wynne

With its fragrance business flat, Chanel's other beauty axes drove business, with makeup the main contributor to its slight uptick in estimated beauty revenues. Sales grew in all markets except the U.S., and Chanel 's performance in travel retail was solid, recovering in most regions but remaining slightly below 2019 levels in North Asia. In the core fragrance category, Chance, Bleu de Chanel and Coco Mademoiselle all underperformed, impacting growth.

6 days ago | wwd.com | Alex Wynne

It was a big year for Spain's Puig as it made its stock market debut, further bolstered its portfolio and celebrated its 110th anniversary and listing with a new visual identity. The company outperformed both the premium beauty market and its own midterm revenue guidance for the year, and growth was weighted strongly in the second half. Puig's May 3 IPO generated €2.6 billion, opening at €25.50 per share, above the €24.59 offer price.

6 days ago | wwd.com | Alex Wynne

It was another strong year for the skin care specialist, which CEO Vincent Warnery said was "the best performing skin care company globally" for the second year in a row. Bolstered by strong business from Nivea and the ongoing growth of its Derma brands, especially Eucerin, the German company was on a roll.

6 days ago | wwd.com | Alex Wynne

The upheaval at Unilever continues. 2024 was a year dedicated to slimming down and streamlining its operating structure under CEO Hein Schumacher, who joined the company in July 2023 and implemented a major reset in October that year. The news this February that Schumacher would step down in March by mutual agreement took the market by surprise, particularly as he had been praised for his strategy, which the company has said is beginning to bear fruit.