Morning Report | Gucci Hosts Fashion Show in Seoul; Shiseido’s Q1 Net Profit Jumps More Than 97%

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• Perfect Diary Parent Company’s Skincare Business Surges Over 34% in Q1
• Perfect Diary’s parent company, Yixian E-Commerce, achieved revenue of 765 million yuan in the first quarter of 2023, exceeding the upper limit of the company’s previous revenue guidance, and recorded a net profit of 50.7 million yuan, with a net profit margin of 6.6%. During the reporting period, the group’s skincare business, which is the focus of its strategic transformation, reported a 34.2% year-over-year jump in revenue to $245 million, accounting for 32% of total revenue. The three major mid-to-high-end skincare brands Galenic, EVE LOM and DR.WU all continued their positive trend with 59% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Gucci held a fashion show in Seoul
• Gucci held its 2024 early spring collection fashion show at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea on May 16. Brand ambassador Hanni, “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, rapper Jay Park and other stars were present to support the show, which was scored to the end credits of the Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite,” drawing widespread attention. Deeply meaningful is that Louis Vuitton also held a fashion show in Seoul at the end of last month and invited the director of “The Squid Game” to design the set.
• Shiseido’s first-quarter net profit surges more than 97%
• In the three months ended March 31, Shiseido’s first-quarter revenue rose 2.6 percent year-on-year to 240 billion yen, operating profit jumped 140.5 percent to 10.525 billion yen and net profit jumped 97.3 percent to 8.68 billion yen. The group said the significant improvement in profitability was mainly due to increased sales and flexible cost management initiatives. Shiseido’s offline sales in China grew for the first time in six quarters during the reporting period.
• Coty Group Launches New Fragrance Project
• Coty Group recently held a press conference to announce the launch of a new concentrated serum for its premium skincare brand Orveda and the group’s most ambitious fragrance project to date, Infiniment Coty Paris, which the group says will cover 14 diverse fragrances and is scheduled to launch globally in 2024. The first fragrance to be patented from formulation to product packaging.
• On the run first quarter sales jump 78% to record high
• Swiss sports brand On the Run posted a record 78.3% year-on-year sales jump to CHF 420 million in the first quarter, while net profit jumped 200% to CHF 44.4 million, far exceeding expectations. Martin Hoffmann, CEO and CFO, said the strong growth was mainly due to the brand’s effective category and retail channel expansion strategy, with retail sales in directly operated stores more than quadrupling year-on-year during the period.
• Fabiana Filippi Appoints First Creative Director
• Italian womenswear brand Fabiana Filippi has announced Lucia De Vito as its first Creative Director, responsible for the ready-to-wear and women’s accessories collections and overseeing the brand in line with the Group’s strategic direction, reporting directly to Group CEO Aldo Gotti. Chloe, her first collection will be launched during Milan Fashion Week in September this year.
• L’Oréal becomes the world’s most valuable beauty brand
• British brand assessment agency Brand Finance has released the “Top 50 Global Cosmetics and Personal Care Brands of 2023” ranking, with L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and Nivea ranking in the top three, and in order of the top ten, Gillette, Dove, Guerlain, Lancôme, Clinique, Pantene and Garnier, with three from the L’Oréal Group.
• Hermès opens its second leather goods factory in the Ardennes region of France
• La Sormonne, the leather goods factory opened by Hermès in the Ardennes region of France, was inaugurated and put into operation on May 12, covering an area of approximately 5,700 square meters and employing around 80 craftsmen for production. This factory is the second one dedicated to the production of leather goods in the Ardennes, after the one in Borgne-sur-Mer, bringing the total number of leather goods factories in France to 22. Data show that the leather and harness division, where the platinum bag is located, accounts for 43% of the Hermès sales, with revenues of 4.9 billion euros in 2022.
• Philipp Plein launched its first jewelry collection
• In clothing, perfume, watches and glasses, German designer brand Philipp Plein has officially entered the jewelry field, launched the first jewelry collection, authorized Timex Group is responsible for the production and sales, products include necklaces, rings, bracelets and cufflinks, etc., mainly made of steel and leather, crystal, the price between 140 to 250 euros.
• Zegna announces Mads Mikkelsen as global spokesperson
• The Italian brand Zegna has announced actor Mads Mikkelsen as its global spokesperson and provided him with a dress for the opening ceremony in Cannes. His confident and elegant style is highly compatible with the spirit of the Zegna brand.
• Belgian group Alain Broekaert acquires Scotch & Soda’s French business
• Following the acquisition of its US business by Blue Star Alliance, Dutch fashion brand Scotch & Soda has sold its business in France to Belgian group Alain Broekaert in a deal whose value has not been disclosed, but in which all jobs are retained. Until then, Alain Broekaert had been responsible for Scotch & Soda’s distribution operations in Belgium and Luxembourg. The group, founded in 1986, operates around 40 single-brand stores and employs around 300 people.
• Cartier’s parent company launches digital platform to track the trajectory of luxury watches
• Cartier’s parent company Richemont has launched Enquirus, an online platform that tracks the trajectory of luxury watches. Watch and jewelry information can be uploaded, searched and shared by multiple parties without revealing the identity of the customer, and all data stored on the platform is used only to facilitate the identification of lost and stolen items in order to better protect consumer rights. It is worth noting that Enquirus is open to all luxury watch brands, and not only for Richemont brands, with over 190 watch brands already registered on the system.
• SHEIN Raises Another $2 Billion in Financing, Latest Valuation at $66 Billion
• Apparel cross-border e-commerce company SHEIN has raised $2 billion in its latest round of financing, valuing the company at $66 billion, which was co-led by Sequoia Capital, Pan Atlantic Investment and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. SHEIN is reported to have revenues of $23 billion and net income of $800 million in 2022. For fiscal year 2023, SHEIN expects to continue to achieve strong revenue growth of 40% this year.
• THE NATURE and Ayaz Group establish a joint venture in China
• Korean fashion company THE NATURE HOLDINGS and Denmark’s Ayazi Fashion signed a cooperation agreement on the establishment of a joint venture in China, holding 51% and 49% of the joint venture’s shares respectively, which will jointly promote the layout and expansion of apparel brand National Geographic Apparel in the Chinese market. The first National Geographic Apparel brick-and-mortar store opened last month in Beijing, with future stores to open in Hong Kong and Macau.
• China’s apparel retail sales jumped more than 32% in April
• According to the latest data from the Bureau of Statistics, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose 18.4% year-on-year to 3.49 trillion yuan in April, with retail sales of apparel, footwear and textiles jumping 32.4% year-on-year to 105.1 billion yuan, cosmetics jumping 24.3% to 27.6 billion yuan, and gold, silver and jewelry also jumping 44.7% to 23.1 billion yuan.