L'Oréal Announces Investment in Chinese Fragrance Brand To Summer

The global beauty giant, L'Oréal, maintains its investment in the Chinese market. In its 2023 financial results report, the company announced it had secured a minority investment in To Summer, a luxury Chinese perfume brand. The transaction amount remains undisclosed. However, it was facilitated through Shanghai Meicifang Investment, L'Oréal's funding arm established in May 2022 to financially support inventive Chinese brands, in partnership with its venture capital fund, Bold.

In September 2022, L'Oréal had previously invested in another Chinese fragrance company, Documents. Despite China's sluggish growth rate impacting major corporations, the Chinese beauty sector is projected to reach a worth of €49 billion by 2024.

During his interview on BFM Business's Good Morning Business on February 12, L'Oréal's CEO, Nicolas Hieronimus, outlined that despite the slow overall growth in the Chinese market, the company is fairing quite well. He stated, 'In China, our growth has been around 5%, and nearly 8% regarding product sales. While these aren't significant double-digit figures, we have secured the largest market share we've ever had, around 32%, predominantly in luxury items.' Nicolas Hieronimus added that 2024 kicked off on a promising note in China. 'We persist with our investments in China, be it in logistics center development or backing Chinese startups. We are actively penetrating the Chinese market,' concluded Hieronimus.

In 2023, L'Oréal recorded a 5.8% decrease in its North Asia sales, amounting to 10.7 billion euros. Nonetheless, during this period, the company reported total revenues of €41.2 billion, denoting a 7.6% rise.