Puig posts double-digit growth in sales and profit for 2012

By

Jean-Paul Leroy

Published
Apr 25, 2013

2012 was a good year for the Spanish fragrance group Puig, which just announced its 2012 results. Its sales of 1.49 billion euros signified an 11% increase over last year. Operating income grew 21% to 254 million euros (17% of sales), while the group's net income totaled 173 million euros, up 12%.

In 2012, Puig had an 8.1% share in the global market, but only ranked number six in the world among luxury perfumes. "The 2012 growth in fragrances was bolstered by the launch of CH Men Sport by Carolina Herrera and the steady success of 1 MILLION by Paco Rabanne, one of the world’s best-selling men’s fragrances, along with the brand’s more recent launches, such as Black XS L’Excès and Lady MILLION EdT. The launches of Prada Luna Rossa by Prada and Valentina Assoluto by Valentino also had a positive impact."

Puig also said fragrances from Antonio Banderas (Her Secret) and Shakira (Elixir) were growing, "enabling Puig to maintain its prominent position in the masstige fragrance category in Spain and abroad."

Puig's fashion division recorded 23% growth in 2012, thanks to strong development in each of its brands (Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier).

Sales of Carolina Herrera New York outside of the United States (its home market) posted a jump of over 100%, predominantly in the United Kingdom, Russia and the Middle East.

Moreover, with its lifestyle line CH Carolina Herrera, the brand has continued its international development with the opening of 14 new stores in 13 countries. It has a total of 92 shops and 213 corners around the world.

In 2012, the Nina Ricci brand focused on the development of accessories. This year, new Nina Ricci corners appeared in Paris (Le Printemps), Dubai (Galeries Lafayette) and London (Harrods).

By choosing to focus on emerging markets a few years back, Puig generated 45% of its sales outside Europe and the United States, thus posting one of the highest percentages for this category. Its Russian subsidiaries (formed in 2011) and Brazilian ones (formed in 2010) each grew by 69% and 45% in 2012, more examples of the group's success. Today, Puig markets its products in more than 130 countries and has subsidiaries in 21 of them.

For 2013, Puig forecasts a lower increase in sales due to the slowdown in the European market. The Spanish group believes that its sales in markets outside the European Union and the United States will represent about 50% of its total revenues in 2013.

A new sales subsidiary will open in 2013 in Saudi Arabia, becoming country number 22 where the group operates.