Welcome to the conference call regarding the L'Oreal Half Year 20 21 Results. The conference is about to begin. Now I hand over to Francoise Louvain. Madam, please go ahead.
Thank you very much, Andrea. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to this conference call for the release of L'Oreal's first half twenty twenty one results. I'm very pleased to welcome for the first time today on the call our Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Hieronymus.
Good morning to all.
Together with Christophe Babule, our Chief Financial Officer.
Good morning.
The agenda of today's meeting is as follows. To start, Christophe will present the financial highlights of the past semester. After this financial review, Nicolas will cover the main strategic developments of our business and share with you his perspective. After these presentations, you will be able to ask your questions. We will end this call at around 10:15.
The press release, which was sent yesterday, and the slides shown this morning are available on our website, l'orealfinance.com, and on the L'Oreal Finance app. A replay of the call will be available later today on the same website and app. The French and English versions of the half year financial report will also be available at the beginning of next week. I wish you good conference. Let me now hand over to Christophe for the review of the accounts.
Thank you, Francoise. So ladies and gentlemen, good morning. The presentation of L'Oreal First 2020 results will include information about sales, profits, cash flow and balance sheet. Consolidated sales amounted to EUR 15,200,000,000 up by 20.7 percent like for like by 21.8% at constant exchange rates and by 16.2% on a reported basis. The change in the scope of consolidation was positive by 1.1%.
It is mainly due to the acquisitions of the Mugler brand and Adzaro Perfumes at the end March 2020 of the American skincare brand, Thiers Natural Remedies in June 2020 of the Prada Luxury Beauty License On the 1st January 2021 and of the Japanese premium skincare brand Takami on the February 1, 2021, which were marginally offset by the termination of the Clarisonic brand. Foreign exchange had a negative minus 5.6% Impact in the first half, with a slightly lower minus 4.6 percent impact in the second quarter compared to that of the Q1, which was minus 6.1%. On a like for like basis, There was a spectacular rebound of +33.5 percent in the 2nd quarter, which follow a 10.2% growth in the 1st quarter. Compared with 2019, like for like growth came to 6.6% over the first half with an acceleration to plus 8.4% in the 2nd quarter after a +5% in the 1st quarter. Exchange rates.
On this table, the group's main invoicing currencies. More than 60% of the group's business is invoiced in 3 currencies. The euro, which represented 20.3 percent of sales in H1 the U. S. Dollar, which accounted for nearly 23% And the Chinese yuan for nearly 20%.
The euro remains strong versus all major currencies. Over the first half, the Australian dollar was up 7.2%. It was one of the very few currencies to appreciate. The pound sterling, the Canadian dollar and the Chinese yuan remain broadly unchanged. The U.
S. Dollar depreciated by 8.6%. The Russian ruble and the Brazilian real dropped 14.8% and 17.5%, respectively. Note that extrapolating the exchange rates of June 30 or €1@1. $1.87 until year end will have a negative impact on full year sales of around minus 2.3%.
Like for like sales by division. Business recovered strongly in the first half And the rebound was even stronger in the Q2, which marks the low point in 2020. All divisions posted growth, Both reported and like for like. In terms of like for like, the Professional Product division posted a spectacular rebound of +41%. The Consumer Products division sales increased by 6.3%.
The recovery of L'Oreal Luxe accelerated to +28.1 And Active Cosmetics continued its race with a new record growth of 37.5%. Let's look at the breakdown of sales by region. During H1, the group has redefined its geographical footprint. As shown on the map, At the end of June, the geographical breakdown of sales is aligned with the organization as follows: Europe, which encompasses West and East, is the group's 1st region and accounted for 32% of total H1 sales. The very dynamic North Asia represented 30.7 percent of total.
The weight of North America is almost even with that of the first half of last year at close to a quarter of total business, the Sarp MENA SSA Zone, which regroups South Asia, Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa represented 7.2% of sales and Latin America 5.3%. Of course, All figures for prior periods have been restated to take these changes into account. You will find these restated figures for the last 6 quarters In the appendix of this presentation on our website, l'orealfinance.com, All regions recorded double digit growth at the end of June, whether reported or like for like, even if the activity remains very contrasted by region, mirroring the changing sanitary conditions and the risk of vaccination campaigns in the different countries. Europe is growing by 11.9% with a noticeable performance in the UK, Italy and Russia. North America achieved an excellent second quarter and ended the first half with 23.2% growth.
North Asia continued at a very dynamic pace of +27.3 percent fueled by the insatiable beauty appetite of the Chinese consumer is domestic market and in travel retail. Note that Mainland China recording the strong 34.2% growth. The SARB MENA SSA region is up by 19.9% with a very strong performance of India, Indonesia, but also Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Australia has continued its double digit growth pace initiated in Q4 2020. Latin America posted growth of 32.8% at the end of June and of more than 54% in the 2nd quarter driven by Brazil and a sharp rebound in Mexico.
By category, skincare, which is our leading category with 41.6% of total sales continues to grow at More than 24%. Makeup had a difficult first quarter, but the rebound was very sharp in the 2nd quarter. The category is now up 15% at midyear. Hair Care continues to be very dynamic at +23.2%, hair coloring increases by 5.8% And Fragrances, which were severely impacted last year, recorded a spectacular rebound in the Q2 driven by the success of both our launches as well as our pillars. Fragrances rose 41.4% at the end of June.
The profit and loss account. Gross profit amounted to EUR 11,300,000,000 representing a record 74.5 percent of sales. Gross margin showed a remarkable improvement of 140 basis points above its levels of last year first half and full year. Changes in the scope of consolidations were negative by 80 basis points. There was no currency impact as the positive conversion impact was offset by the negative And therefore, on a comparable basis, the gross margin increased by 2 20 basis points, driven by favorable mix and premiumization as well as a strong improvement of Industrial and Logistics performance helped by higher volumes.
Research and Innovation expenses rose by 7.4% and amounted to 3.2% of total sales versus 3.5% in the first half of last year and 3.1% in the first half of twenty nineteen. As you can see, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 200 basis points versus H1 2020 to 19.1 percent of sales. This shows our strong cost management discipline and is also helped by savings imposed by the pandemic such as restrictions on international travel or on the organization of on-site events. Therefore, high gross margin combined with lower cost has allowed us to increase on one side our growth drivers very significantly and on the other our profit margin. Once again, a perfect demonstration of the virtuous circle of the L'Oreal model that drives growth.
A and P increased by 24.2% or by almost EUR 1,000,000,000. They are 2 10 basis points higher than in H1 2020 At 32.6 percent of sales, we have continued to invest heavily to support the growth of our brands. Digitalization is continuing at full speed. Our digital media expenses are accelerating sharply, especially on social networks, Display, video and influencers. They represented 72% of our total media spend versus 59% in the first half of last year.
At the same time, operating profit rose 26.8 percent close to EUR 3,000,000,000. The operating margin profit was 170 basis points higher than that of the first half of twenty twenty at 19.7 percent of sales. Profitability by division. At this stage, Every year, we point out that the L'Oreal Group is managed on an annual basis and that the half year division profitability cannot therefore be extrapolated for the full year. So in the first half of twenty twenty one, the profitability of the Professional Product division jumped from 10.4% to 20.5%.
The Consumer Product division posted a profitability of 20% compared with 21.3% in H120. L'Oreal Luxe profitability improved by 3 40 basis points to 23.8 percent And the profitability of the Active Cosmetics divisions remain high at 28.8%. Non allocated expenses consisting mainly of corporate and fundamental research costs were 20 basis points higher Relative to sales, that's 2.9 percent of sales. The group's operating profit margin improved 170 basis points over the first half 2020 basis points over the first half of twenty nineteen to 19.7% of sales. From operating profit to net profit excluding nonrecurring items.
The net financial result was negative by €29,000,000 For the full year 2021, net financial expenses of around EUR 70,000,000 can be anticipated, all other things being equal. Sanofi dividends amounted to EUR 378,000,000. Income tax amounted to EUR 731,000,000, representing a rate of 21.9 percent above the rate of first half of twenty twenty, which was 20.3 For the full year 2021, we can anticipate a tax rate below 24%, all other things being equal. Net profit excluding non recurring items amounted to EUR 2,600,000,000 and the corresponding earnings per share of EUR 4 point €63 showed a strong 21.1% increase. To help you in estimating your EPS for the full year, I will recommend that you base your calculation on a diluted number of shares of 561,000,000.
We will
now complete the review of the profit and loss account. Nonrecurring items net of tax amounted to a negative EUR 237,000,000 in the first half of twenty twenty one versus a negative EUR 322,000,000 in the first half Last year, non recurring items before tax, which amounted to a negative EUR 315,000,000 are principally made of a goodwill impairment on It Cosmetics of EUR 250,000,000 Restructuring charges of EUR 94,000,000, which mainly comprise EUR 55,000,000 for changes in the organization and in the distribution of the Professional Product division and of L'Oreal Luxe in Europe and EUR 27,000,000 for the commercial reorganization of the Consumer Product division In North Asia, on the positive side, a reversal of provisions of EUR 45,000,000 relating to an intellectual property litigation. After taking into account all nonrecurring items, net profit after non controlling interest came out At EUR 2,362,000,000, up by 29.6 percent. Cash flow. The gross cash flow amounted to EUR 3,300,000,000 with a change broadly in line with that of the net profit.
The change in working capital increased significantly by EUR 675,000,000, which happens every year in the first half. Capital expenditure amounted to EUR 523,000,000 and represented 3.4% of sales. For the full year, they should reach around 4% offset. Net operating cash flow of €2,000,000,000,000 was 67% higher than that of the first half and 10.6% above that of the first half of twenty nineteen. Lastly, after payment of acquisitions, dividends, Share buyback of EUR 1,100,000,000 and redemption of the lead debt, the receivable cash flow is negative at minus EUR 1,600,000,000.
The balance sheet remains particularly solid with shareholders' equity amounting to EUR 29,600,000,000. The financial situation remains very robust. At the end of June, net cash amounted to EUR 2,300,000,000 and to almost EUR 4,000,000,000 excluding the financial lease debt. Thank you for your attention. I hand the microphone
over to Nicolas. Thank you, Christophe, and good morning again to you all. First, I'd like to send my support to the people who are still fighting the COVID pandemic and my deepest thoughts go to our colleagues and their loved ones all over the world. At the end of our Q1, we expressed our sense of fighting spirit in a progressively improving context. At the end of this semester, L'Oreal It's more beautiful than ever.
Thanks to the commitment and talents of the L'Oreal teams around the world, we have achieved an exceptional quarter and a one of a kind first half. Firstly, this quarter is exceptional for me as it's my first as CEO of this great company supported by Jean Paul Agon as Chairman and by a fresh united and committed executive committee. Secondly, it's exceptional because we are witnessing the recovery of the beauty market to almost We estimate that the beauty market increased at more than 11% over the first half. The pace Off market recovery remains, however, contrasted and is driven by the evolution of the sanitary conditions and vaccination rates. With growth of 20%, the Chinese market is hot again with an ever growing appetite for beauty, especially for luxury.
Online remains strong as more platforms are entering the game, striking a new balance with the brick and mortar retail network, which is picking up. The O plus O online plus offline ecosystem is now fully embraced by consumers. In the USA, The market is recovering strongly, particularly in Q2 with brick and mortar picking up whilst e commerce continues showing steady growth versus 2019, even if slowing down in Q2 versus the huge Q2 2020 comparative. In Europe, the bounce back is slower Due to the lockdown stop and go, but it's getting closer to 2019 with the UK paving the way to the full speed recovery. In general, the market situation is correlated to the sanitary situation and markets like South Asia, Japan and some Latin America countries I'll see more uncertain.
By category, the long awaited rebound of the makeup category initiated in China is now spreading in the U. S. And in Europe, although still below the 2019 levels. Skin Care continues to thrive and hair products are benefiting from the reopening of salons all over the world and the growing interest for hair routines. By channel, e commerce continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace in Q2, Facing last year's huge acceleration and as distribution is being rebalanced by the reopening of retail.
Travel Retail is still being fueled by the strong growth of Hainan, the slight hair traffic rebound and the favorable comparative in Europe. However, it is still very much below the 2019 levels as travel restrictions apply around the globe. Within this context, L'Oreal delivered an exceptional outperformance at twice the market base and has returned to pre COVID growth rhythm. Sales were up plus 20.7 percent like for like and plus 16.2% reported over the first half of twenty twenty and plus 6.6% over 2019 with a great acceleration in Q2 at +8.4 percent. With all divisions and regions winning share without exception, this has been a perfect grand slam for us.
The Professional Products division has completely transformed its business model and as a consequence achieved record breaking performance at + 41%, up 10.9% versus 2019, driven by the strong portfolio of brands, notably Kerastase, which continues its successful business story as the only true luxury hair care brand. The past year has more than ever outlined how essential this Profession is in everyone's expression of beauty. Salons have reopened in most European and North American markets. In the USA, Salon Centric proves to be a winning machine in the context of rising independent stylists. In Mainland China, the division is benefiting from its very efficient O plus or go to market, whereas in India and Latin America, the pandemic constraints are still holding this sector back.
The PPD teams are now reaping the fruits of their support to salon owners and stylists around the world in 2020 With an acceleration of Salon Conquest for our brands in H1. We're providing them with a powerful innovation plan With metal detox by L'Oreal Professional, Curl Manifesto by Kerastase and Acetic Bonding Concentrate by Redken on the way to becoming hero products. And our online plus offline model is perfectly suited to the needs of professionals and consumers. Digitalization With innovative tools for hairdressers creates more flexibility and agility for independent professionals and attracts and engages even more consumers to hair salons for high touch services. E commerce has recorded the first half a strong growth at plus 47%.
The Consumer Product division recorded plus 6.3% growth and a double digit growth over the 2nd quarter, especially due to the awaited makeup rebound and the continued dynamic skincare and haircare momentum. In sellout, The division posted a 6.2% growth on the market estimated at plus 5.1%. Our big brands are growing and are gaining significant market share in the U. S. And in Western Europe.
The makeup rebound is embraced by our brands L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline New York and NYX Professional Makeup, hero products and game changing innovations. In skincare, the Revitalift Hyaluronic Acid Serum by L'Oreal Paris has become the number one serum in the world. Great hair care innovations are also fueling the growth particularly in China, Europe and Brazil with products such as Hair Foods by Garnier or the 8 Seconds Water Water Treatment by L'Oreal Paris. In the Chantilly rebounding luxury market, L'Oreal Luxe continues its momentum at +28.1 percent versus 2020 And more importantly, up plus 6.5% versus 2019, outperforming substantially the market in H1 and even more significantly when compared with 2019. With the return of social interactions, consumers are going back to social categories.
For L'Oreal Luxe, The rebound is real in makeup and truly spectacular in fragrances, a category showing amazing growth in all regions, While skincare continues to be a strong growth engine, skincare is growing by 27%, fragrance by 42% and makeup by 20. The division's portfolio of fragrance brands is perfectly adapted to this consumption rebound with the new Couture brands Valentino, Prada, Mugler and Adzaro and on top of strong pillars from Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani, which has successfully launched its 1st carbon neutral feminine fragrance, MyWay. Skincare continues to flourish, driven by the group's premium brands Lancome and Helena Rubinstein as well as the specialty brand Kiehl's. The Active Cosmetics division achieved another record growth at +37.5%, 2.5 times the growth of this accelerating market, demonstrating consumers' quest for health in beauty. The division is growing at plus 49.9 percent versus 2019.
The division's unique ability to offer efficacy, safety, Transparency and to combine medical advocacy, prescriptions with a strong e commerce footprint is a winning recipe. CeraVe, our American based brand drives the growth doubling its size again followed closely by exceptional performances from La Roche Posay and SkinCeuticals. Vichy is well positioned and successful in the anti aging category. As far as regions are concerned, You may have heard that we have finalized the redefinition of the group's geographical footprint around the consumer centric vision. The last step being regrouping Western and Eastern Europe in one zone with 1 leadership team.
In H1, L'Oreal beat the market in every single region. North Asia at plus 27.3% is still fueled by China, Well, L'Oreal reinforces its undisputed leadership. L'Oreal China has grown by 34.2% during the 1st 6 months. In Europe, all countries are growing, led by the UK, Italy, Russia above average and with a strong contribution to growth of France, Spain and Germany. The growth reaches plus 12%.
But the great news of the quarter is the comeback of L'Oreal USA. L'Oreal USA strongly accelerated during the 1st 6 months with a strong Q2 at +47 percent. L'Oreal USA beat the market in all four divisions. The rebalancing of categories notably between skincare and makeup Of channels between brick and mortar and e commerce and the success of some of our launches and their digital activations are paying off and given us confidence for the future. We could have even done better if we'd had all the supplies we needed in the USA.
As you know, I set strong development in emerging countries as a group priority. L'Oreal is over performing, a recovering duty market in spite of very The Sapmina SSA zone is at plus 19.9% in the context of lasting sanitary restrictions. In both zones, all divisions are growing. In South Asia, in particular, Sales are driven by e commerce. In Latin America, the beauty market recovery accelerated.
Many countries achieved double digit growth. The zone Growth reaches 32.8 percent, thanks to great performances in hair care and skin care. Finally, the semester is also exceptional in terms of profit then EPS. The strong set of results come from the combination of our strong top line growth, favorable category and channel mix effects and SG and A, which have remained rigorously controlled and contained by the absence of travels and events. This unique alignment of planets has allowed us to invest strongly on our brands to reinforce their desirability whilst delivering solid profit growth.
All in all, After this first part of the year, we can say that L'Oreal has offset the business losses of the COVID crisis and returned to its cruising speed. Despite the uncertainties related to the sanitary conditions, we are confident for the short and long term performance of the company. Indeed, L'Oreal is stronger than ever and we will leverage 6 powerful dynamics. Firstly, market growth. The market has rebounded and will most certainly resume its pre crisis growth space supported by the rise of the middle and upper classes around the world.
Our intention is to take an ever bigger share of an ever bigger pie. 2nd, our business footprint. I believe we have the ideal setup in terms of regions, divisions and categories. In terms of regions, North Asia and North America are 2 powerful growth engines. Europe, our biggest zone and stronghold, We'll reconcile growth and optimize cost structures whilst our emerging zones will benefit from more strategic transversality.
In terms of divisions, we also have a great mix with our L'Oreal Luxe now approximately the same size as mass and Active Cosmetics having caught up with a reborn professional division. This perfect balance allows us to seize all beauty trends and aspirations. As L'Oreal is a beauty pure player, our multifaceted model remains a major asset for growth and market share gains in the future. In terms of categories, skincare is now over 40% of our business and will be a steady growth driver across all regions. Hair and Fragrances are confirming their strong potential, whilst makeup, which we truly champion, is proving its rebound capacity when stimulated by innovations and communication.
3rd, the digital dynamic. The group can count on its digital to engage, recruit and loyalize consumers and partners alike. Our digital activation strategies will be more and more data optimized. E commerce is now about 20% of our sales and we are investing to be ready for when it represents 50%. That does not prevent the group from running on both feet as brick and mortar channel are picking up at plus 18% and reinventing themselves in a truly O plus O consumption pattern.
4th, our relentless focus on innovation. R and I investments account for 3.2% of our total sales. Beauty is an offer driven market where the superior offer wins. Short term, we have an ambitious penny of launches planned for the second half with more than ever sustainability at its core. Midterm, L'Oreal is accelerating fast in green sciences, in line with its L'Oreal for the future program.
Under the leadership of Barbara Lavenos, who's in charge of RNA and technology, we plan to bet on technology, on data and on AI to become the leading beauty tech 5th, the strength of our brands. The group's brand portfolio is stronger than ever with big international as well as powerful regional brands in all categories. This portfolio allows us to satisfy the infinite diversity of beauty desires within our universalization strategy. 6th, the strength of the L'Oreal P and L model, which through its high gross margin levels and good management of SG and A allows us to use our top line growth to invest behind our brands or our infrastructure and fuel more growth whilst delivering a hands up profit margin. Finally, I want to reiterate that alongside financial performance, we are committed to deliver non financial performance.
In June, L'Oreal launched the first ever L'Oreal Group global campaign to share with employees and consumers alike Our activities and commitments behind our group purpose create the beauty that moves the world. In the first half, we also launched L'Oreal for Youth, Our first global program on youth employment and this ambition has become an integral part of our L'Oreal for the Future road map. L'Oreal commits to increasing the number of work opportunities for young people under 30 by 30%. To conclude, This first half is clearly a one of a kind moment. Of course, there are still worries and uncertainties around COVID, but we see that Beauty stores at every relapse and that L'Oreal has offset the business impact of the 2020 crisis.
In this context, all the stars are aligned for a great year. L'Oreal has come out more beautiful than ever and is in fine form to continue to win. L'Oreal is ideally positioned in terms of divisions, categories and channels to win the short and midterm future. In the second half, we will be comparing to a positive growth in 2020, But our ambition is to continue to accelerate versus 2019. We will also continue to invest strongly behind our brands launches and hope to resume some traveling and events in person.
All in all, and pending the evolution of the pandemic, we are confident In our ability to once again outperform the beauty market and to deliver another year of growth in sales and profits And of course, proudly continue to create the beauty that moves the world. Thank you very much.
Operator, please, we are now ready for the questions.
We are now taking our first question from the line of Bruno Montaigne at Bernstein.
My question is about travel retail. I understand from your slide that the travel retail market It's still well below 2019, but your position in Hainan is stronger than it is typically in the other places of the world and travel retail. Can you be a bit more explicit of how big you are at L'Oreal specifically versus 2019? And maybe explain to what extent Hainan It's a different type of travel retail and how it compares with your previous kind of travel retail experience.
Thank you for this question. It's true that today, if we take a broader perspective, the situation of Travel Retail remains Pretty restricted by the air traffic condition. The air traffic on the first half remains 80% below that of 2019. So today, 80% of the growth of that market It's based in Hainan, which is this duty free place Where 90,000,000 visitors are expected this year, I think it was 30,000,000 at the end of April. And today, it represents 80% of the growth of the market.
As far as Hainan is concerned, it's I've been there. I've actually been there. It's a place where the brands are really showcased in the most spectacular manner, in the same way They were in the shops of Hong Kong. It's quite similar to what Hong Kong used to be for Chinese shoppers and travelers. So you have a big business of Chinese visitors and it's a great place to showcase the quality of our brands.
And it's true that this year, besides gaining share in Hainan, we've run a few spectacular operations To showcase our brands like Saint Laurent, Armani or Lancome, which are doing fantastic there.
Is it a follow-up question? Yes. So my second question related to travel retail Still is. Once things normalize, how big can travel retail be as a growth engine for you? Would it be fair to say it could be a quarter of the growth going forward?
Or would it be too ambitious a target to have for travel retail?
I'm not sure we can give you an accurate answer of that. Today, Travel Retail It's around 7% of our business, and it used to be a bit more. It's It's a growth engine mainly for L'Oreal Luxe and a little bit for CPD. I'm not sure it could represent a quarter of our growth. And we have a few other growth engines to drive the growth of the group.
So whether it's Mainland China, the U. S. A, which is rebounding And hopefully emerging when the sanitary situation improves. But what's very clear is that the beauty market In Travel Retail recovers strongly and faster than air traffic, thanks to these downtown shops and places like Hainan. And it will become definitely a strong growth engine for the group.
And again, also An image engine because many travelers discover our brands, whether in Hainan or in airports, and that's always been one of the ways for us to make our luxury brands shine all over the world.
My last question is about your investment in A and P and advertising. It's a material step up. Now how do you internally quantify how much additional growth you would expect from a step up of that size? Do you have a sort of rough and ready measure 200 basis points more A and P gives me a certain amount of additional organic growth? Is that the way you think about it?
And if so, how would you quantify the bang you would get for that kind of buck in terms of investment?
Well, you know it's I think this as it was said, this quarter is and this half is a great illustration of what We call the L'Oreal Virtual Circle with good SG and A management, so good gross margin improvement. That allows us to invest behind our brands, Which are really, I think, our number one assets in this world that's more and more fragmented, having brands that are loved by which we do measure, by the way, through different measurements such as the GLOBE studies, brand engagement index, That's one of the very qualitative but very important ways to measure the efficacy of our media spending. Another way to measure it, I would say in broad terms, The most gaining share in all divisions and all regions at the same time is a good demonstration of the efficacy of that spending. And to go more into details, which I won't do not to spend too much time, we obviously have strong R and I measurement tools in house that we are developing with more and more usage of the sellout data that we're getting from our retailers. And This measurement of our efficacy and therefore of the ROI is getting more and more accurate.
To end on the spending in A and P, I also want to say and I have said it in my speech, but that's something that's important to me is that We have decided for the first time to spend money on the group's reputation, to talk to the consumers and present In a campaign around our sense of purpose, all the achievements of L'Oreal and the new commitments of L'Oreal as it relates to sustainability, societal commitments, inclusivity, science and that's also part of I think what a great company like ours should do Because we've seen that with this COVID crisis, consumers and stakeholders alike pay more and more attention to the purpose of the companies beyond the quality of their products.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
We are taking our next question from the line of Guillaume Delmas at UBS.
Good morning, Nicolas, Christophe and Francois. Two questions for me. The first one is on your margin outlook Because historically with L'Oreal, we've been used to relatively modest but consistent annual margin expansion to the tune of 20 to 30 basis points. Now given what you've achieved in the first half, the strong top line momentum going into the second half, Should we see 2021 as being the exception to the L'Oreal margin rule? Or will the second half be another 6 months of intense investment?
And then my Second question is on North America, because it seems clearly that from a market share standpoint, you've turned the corner there with gains in mass And lots. And I think it's been several quarters that we hadn't heard that. So just wondering here, What were the drivers behind this improvement? I know you've got a new management team there for almost a year and a half now. And whether if you're confident you'll be able to maintain this share momentum in the region.
Okay. So I'll hand over to Christophe to talk about the margin. But what I can say, as I mentioned, is that it's true that The first half is quite exceptional in terms of alignment of planets. And as I've said previously, My mandate is in the great continuity of what you've been used to experience The great leadership of Jean Paul Agon, so don't expect major changes, but I'll let Christophe elaborate.
Yes. You've seen in the figures that the exceptionality of our results are on one side due to a strong rebound of sales. And on the other side, which is quite exceptional, we've been maintaining strictly our cost also because in the current situation, of course, people cannot Travel, etcetera. So we hope that in the 2nd semester, we'll be able again to on one side to travel And to go ahead with our investments. And I just want to remind you that when you look at the shape of our profits between 1st semester and second semester, pre COVID, we used to have usually a margin and profits that were higher in the first half compared to Because the second half, we have big investment moments.
Basically, when we come to October, November with the Big operations of 11.11 in China or Christmas in Europe and North America. So Of course, we'll keep invest to support the growth of our brands.
And And but We can say because that's the word
that was used last year, and I
think it was a pretty nice word that we intend to deliver a handsome profit improvement in 20 21, when you're in beauty, you wouldn't want to change from this handsome promise. As far as North America is concerned, I think this great Zern, I think this great performance and it's true, it's really it's a great performance and it's very important because Having both the Chinese and the American engine roaring is very good for our business and our growth. And it's linked Too many factors. As I expressed in my speech, it's got a lot to do with and then I'll enter a bit more Details with the rebalancing of our activity between categories. We were the U.
S. A. Was the market in the world where makeup It was weighing the most. We had lots of American makeup brands. And now we've strongly accelerated in skincare, and we've really rebalanced our portfolio, Both thanks to the great performance of CeraVe and Active Cosmetics in general.
CeraVe continues to fly. La Roche Posay has become the number one dermatologically prescribed brand in the U. S. A. We also have had a strong success on L'Oreal Paris And getting back on track with our Luxury brand.
So there's a rebalancing between categories. And hair care is also doing good, Both in Professional and Mass, we have a rebalancing of channels. As Strange as it may seem, and we said it in the yearly call, the U. S. A.
Was a part of the world where we were Underrepresented in e commerce versus our fair share, and we strongly accelerated in e commerce with Amazon but also with retailers And that's and it's also a rebalancing between divisions with Fantastic performances from Active Cosmetics. I've mentioned it, but also from the Professional division, thanks to SoundCentric. And I mean the performance The Professional division is stellar. And I have to say, I'm very happy to see CPD back Consumer Product division Back to market share gains with a great bounce back of makeup and incredible product successes because in the end, it's all about innovation. The Maybelline Sky High Mascara was probably our greatest makeup launch ever.
Our NYX Shine Loud Lipstick was a fantastic success and our Infallible powder from L'Oreal Paris, which was praised by TikTok influencers to a point where we could barely meet the demand are also great successes. So I think because it's Structural rebalancing and because we have more innovations coming and because there's also still things that we need to fix, I think you can count on the U. S. To be back for the long time.
Many thanks.
You're welcome.
We're now taking our next question from the line of Eva Quiroga at Bank of America.
Yes, good morning. I have 2 questions, please. Good morning. First on How you think about the consumers' wallets over the next 12 to 18 months? We've obviously seen phenomenal growth in skincare.
Makeup is now coming back. Do you think the wallet is big enough to sustain both? Or do you think that in the next year or so, We're going to see a greater return to makeup at the expense of skin care. And then my second question is on China. In my head, China has been mostly about makeup and skincare for years.
And I've been very intrigued by your comment about very strong growth in haircare in China. I was wondering if you can talk maybe a little bit about the dynamics in the category and also where you stand within that category at the moment.
Okay. So on the first point of the consumer wallet, We have to remember that we are comparing to a year 2020 where this market was impacted by the by a crisis of offer, not a crisis The demands because stores were closed and what we're seeing now with the bounce back of makeup is just bringing going back To a certain normality, although as we said, of all categories, makeup is the one which is still Quite far from its 2019 level overall. And as far as skincare is concerned, I think You know consumers both have taken new habits, but skincare is bound to continue to grow. We see, by the way, In the first half that skincare continues to be ahead of the overall beauty market at plus 13%, whilst makeup is at +8%. So it's not It's all impacted by makeup and skincare consumption is driven by very real needs, protection from the UV, Aging, acne, exposure to all sorts of exposome impacts.
And therefore, I see skincare as a very long standing growth driver for the years to come. And it's a category that's always been much less cyclical than makeup because it's not linked to fashion. And therefore, I think that the consumer wallet It's big enough and thick enough to absorb consumption in both categories and even more, including in hair care To draw the line with your question about China, it's true that the number 1 and The queen category in China is skincare, and it continues to grow very strongly. And that's very, very important for us because We are really leading that category in China. Makeup is bouncing back strongly, and we see it in the bounce back of some of our luxury brands such as YSL or Armani in makeup.
What's interesting is that Other categories are growing too. Fragrance, which is still very small, but it's growing at over 80%. So it's still small in percentage, but we are Confident that fragrance China is going to become the 1st fragrance market in the world in a couple of years. And we are we have brands that are doing good there. And finally, hair care, as I told you, we are growing in hair care in both division, In Professional, with Kerastase, which is really flying in China And also our L'Oreal Paris hair care brands, which we have valorized.
So it's a more premium version Of Elseve, that's what you might know in Western Europe. And overall, the total performance of L'Oreal China in hair, so all hair categories together including hair color is over 50% growth in the first half. So It's pretty positive.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
We're taking our next question from the line of Celine Pannuti at JPMorgan.
Yes, thank
you very much. Good morning, everybody.
So my first question hello. Maybe as a follow-up on the U. S. Market, which I think you said was growing You grew 45%, but the market itself, I think, grew 17% in H1. Is it possible To understand whether there was some catch up at the retailer level in terms of inventory or even as you are just alluding before, maybe Catch up at the consumer level in terms of spending and what you think is your best guess for the 2nd half or the growth rate of the U.
S. Market as we look forward, I'm just trying to understand whether What you've just been saying means that overall we will have a higher demand that we usually add in the U. S. Market. So if you could comment on that.
My second question, just it was a bit confusing your commentary on margin and reinvestment because So last year when you used the word handsome was for H2 margin and H2 margin I think were 140 basis points In the second half of last year. So are you saying that full year margin would be handsome? Or am I trying to read too much into your commentary? Thank you.
Maybe I correct immediately. Of course, we were referring to the full year margin. And as I said before, I think that we are back to a pre COVID situation in terms both of growth. You've seen the growth related to 2019, we are back to 8% growth in Q2. And of course, the way we Drive the growth in terms of both investment between quarters and between semesters is in the same pattern as the one pre COVID?
Yes. I think it's the right explanation. 2020 was a bit of an exceptional year downwards for the Okay. And I think we managed it pretty well. And now we are back to our cruising speed, and that's true for top line growth as it is Clarify, the growth of plus 47% on the 2nd quarter.
If I take our performance on the full first half, The growth of L'Oreal is was around plus 25%, still higher than the market at 17%. So it's a great growth and a great acceleration in the Q2 compared to the drop of last year. This growth is not Generated by piping products into retailers. Actually, our performance is set in sellout It's higher than our performance in sell in. So on the contrary, I think retailers have remained careful in terms of inventory management.
But what we're seeing is really a rebound of consumption. Up until recently, The situation the sanitary situation in the U. S. A. Has normalized pretty Faster than in Western Europe and the consumers have started socializing again.
We've seen a strong growth of makeup, a really very strong growth Fragrance 2. And that's these are categories where we are strong, and that's what we have leveraged. And On top of what I already mentioned, our powerful positions on skincare with active cosmetics as well as on professional hair care with In the USA.
So but do you think that if you look at what the U. S. Market could be doing, I mean, there was clearly a bit of An easy comp for the market, not only just for you. But do you think that from what you said in terms of consumer wallet and The willingness to spend, do you think that there could be a higher demand than usual for a period of time in the U. S?
I think that I think we are going back. And again, it's very hard to predict what's going to happen because I was Listening again yesterday to the news and they are the authorities are asking their people to wear masks again in public places or closed spaces. So it's very hard to predict the future. I think what we are seeing, we have seen a little bit of catch up in the first In the Q2 versus last year, particularly on makeup. And our perception again is that we are going to go back to a normal by the end of the year.
And so that's what we intend to manage and to grow
We're now taking our next question from Olivier Nicolai at Goldman Sachs.
Good morning, Nicolas, Christophe and Francoise. Just a couple of questions on my side. First on Professional Products, your sales are now above 2019 levels, But you're operating on a much higher margins than before. Now you mentioned in the press release, digitalization of salons, the development of Freelance Stylist and the explosion of e commerce, is it fair to assume that you could operate this division on a higher margins level going forward, thanks to this And then just going back on as a follow-up going back to the Consumer Products division, We've seen many successful product launches so far this year and last year, maybe in SKYYA, Mascara or In Foldable Foundation My question is, were these launches the results of a backlog during COVID? Or can we expect a similar pace of new product launches going forward?
And what have you learned from this successful innovation? Thank you.
All right. So the Professional division, first of all, you're right to say that during this crisis, The Professional division has really been transforming its business model and its approach to the addressing industry. It has started before, and that's why, by the way, we were ready when the sound were closed. And the digitalization that the PPD Teams have started. It's really allowing us to engage stylists all around the world, but also consumers In a much more efficient way, we are training sanos remotely.
I was last week, there was an event where they had a training session for Indian hairdressers. There were almost 200,000 stylists that were connecting at the same time On the training session, that's really impressive. In the same way, we can take some orders replenishment orders from Salons in a more easier and an easier way with digital. So structurally, The division is more efficient and that's also what fuels this growth. And you have to remember that for many years, the Professional division was a bit the laggard of the group, and we are seeing the benefits of this new digitalized division.
So in the future, yes, we can expect the division to continue to improve its profitability regularly. But we also have Many areas of conquest for the division. This division is still very much a Western world Division, we have many territories to conquer, whether in North Asia, in South Asia or in emerging markets. So as always, at L'Oreal, We will manage our P and L to balance in the best possible way growth accelerators and margin improvements. And your second question was around?
On consumer products and the successful launches that you had. I was just wondering, we've seen a lot of fees. I was just wondering if there was a backlog during COVID and there were all essentially all these innovation coming out at the same time. Or can we actually expect the same kind of pace of product launches and essentially what you will learn from the successful innovation that you had?
All right. No, I think it's one of the things that made our 2020 year much better than the rest of the industry is that we did not stop Investing, we did not stop launching. And our last quarter of last year was very rich in launches. And So these launches that are early 2021 launches are were planned at this period. So they are not a backlog.
And therefore, the plans of our brands remain very strong for the second half. I've shown a few examples on the screen, And there are more to come. So there is no slowing down. What is what I must say in terms The way we manage our products is that there are new products, but there are also a lot of renovations of existing products. And that's also part of the recipe of our success.
We constantly improve the products that are already on the market, and That's what makes success continuous rather than highs and lows, and we'll continue to do that also. And as far as what we've learned from these launches, I have to say that both the sky high and shining out or inflatable and I Also quote the Dream Length hair care line. I think we've gotten even better Working on the social networks, at leveraging TikTok and influencers in general. And I think that's a recipe that we will continue
We are taking our next question from the line of Thomas Sykes at Deutsche Bank.
Yes. Good morning, everybody. Just Firstly, to come back to your comments on SG and A. I think last year, you took about €380,000,000 of restructuring costs. Are these all now running through the P and L as cost savings either in the SG and A line, maybe a bit in gross margin?
And then also, I think you took about €200,000,000 of adjustments last year related to COVID, so things like Salesman salaries and counter costs, etcetera. Have you put all of those back through the P and L now? Or will H2 have some of those coming back in as well as the travel costs that you mentioned? And maybe just another short one would just be how important is a rebound in sun care being to the growth in skin care at all in this 1st half given a weak H1 last year, please. Thank you.
Okay. So regarding first on the restructuring cost, It's true that last year because of the COVID, we decided to accelerate some restructuring Maybe because of the huge shift of distribution between the brick and mortar and the e commerce. So of course, this year, we are we have already part of the benefits in the P and L. And also last year, we had Costs that are that were linked to the COVID and of course this year we have 0 of them. But as I said before, Even in the first half, we still have some restructuring cost because we are still investing in Transforming the company and of course, preparing the P and L for the future and invest Tomorrow, even more in the growth of L'Oreal.
So lower restructuring costs, but already reaping a part of this Investment in the P and L of this year and of course in the P and L of the coming years.
On Sun Care, It's actually pretty marginal for us. It represents less than 6% of our total skincare sales. And Right now, actually skincare, excluding sun care, is growing even faster. So it's a 26% growth Rather than 24,000,000 for including sun care. So sun care is not contributing to our skincare performance.
It's a real, No, what I would call traditional skincare performance, that is ours.
Okay, perfect. Thank you very much.
We are taking our next question from the line of David Thijs at Societe Generale.
Thank you. Good morning. Just one for me on just came back to the Hanan dynamic you talked about earlier. I just wonder whether you've got any metrics Data you can share in terms of the growth and the growth in visitors of how much that's coming from maybe Tier 3, 4 city Consumers or non passport holders, I'm just trying to see whether we can get more of a sense of how much of this uplift is this, that substitution and then that will come off again As travel eases or how much of it is incremental sales? So any data on that would be fantastic if you have such things.
Thank you.
I'm not sure I have that specific data on the high end consumers. What I can say because In the end, the question is about incrementality. What is true today is that a lot of Chinese Shoppers were shopping outside China before the COVID. They were shopping in France. They were shopping in Thailand, in Japan, In many parts of the world where particularly for the tax differences reasons, the products are a bit cheaper.
And today, most of these people Our funnel to Hainan. So there are people that were probably Hello?
Hello. We lost you there.
Sorry, we had a technical glitch.
I didn't think it was that bad or a tougher question, but we I know. I'm being baptized by the technician
for my I'm being baptized by the technician for my first call. So it's a learning curve. It's fantastic. But anyway, What we know to just to finish the on your question is that depending on the brands, there are many consumers that Discover our brands in travel retail and the airports. They come initially because it's they have potential good deals to make.
But discover our brands, which is why the way that Present them is really very important. And on a I would say on a qualitative basis because I don't have exact numbers, but I know That we have a slightly higher proportion of consumers from Tier 3 and 4 cities that are buying in Hainan And that are probably discovering our brands there. Does that answer your question with the glitch in the middle?
The second half is much more useful than the first half of the answer with the silence. Yes, that's very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. We are now taking our next question from the line of Pena Evyoun at Morgan Stanley.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. The first one is, are you seeing competition from Chinese brands, especially in the mass or upper mass market segments? And then the second one is your margin dynamics were remarkable in this half. Is this virtual circle of High gross margin in A and P and lower SG and A sustainable at these levels?
Or should we expect some reversal to where things were pre COVID
I'll let Christophe answer the second one. I'll take the first one On the Chinese brands, as we've said in previous calls, There is very little Chinese brands competition in the luxury sector. It's more a mass play. And it's a competition that's challenging. But what's interesting is that if you look At the 1st 6 months of the year and we've looked at the top 200 brands in Tmall Beauty, so it's half of Tmall Beauty sales.
And in these top 200 brands, the weight of local Chinese brands is decreasing by 3% over 6 months With a share of 14%. So it's not as if they were eating a lot of market share. They are increasingly competing amongst themselves And also with other Asian brands, Korean brands namely, and we see that Western brands, our brands, maintain Their weight on Tmall is at over 28%, so twice the weight of local Chinese brands. So overall, it's a real competition and it's good because it forces us to be even more creative. We just signed A fantastic K Pop band named Itsy for Maybelline, which is making wonders on the launch of our latest lipstick.
But we see we do not see this as a big threat. And by the way, I often hear about Perfect Diary in 6.18, the famous this great digital day. They've grown single digits and they've lost ranking to 3CE, which is our Korean makeup brand. So tough fight on the Chinese market, but a fight that we are equipped to win.
Okay. So regarding the margin, as you can In fact, we had a good start this year. That's why we are still confident that we will achieve a growth in our results. But regarding the H1, of course, this is driven by a very high gross margin. And Here, as you have understood, we can say that all stars were fully aligned in the first half Because this growth of gross margin was fueled by a positive mix between the divisions, between the categories And between the channels, so of course, it helps to boost even faster the gross margin.
But as you know, we have also some adverse events, and I'm referring here to the cost of some raw materials That may impact some of our categories. Of course, we're monitoring that very closely even if because of the High gross margin, the impact will not be major, but still there will be some impact in some categories. And of course, regarding the SG and A, you know L'Oreal, we will still be very disciplined And manage our cost to make sure that we can leverage the size of our organization To keep investing heavily in our medias and all type of investments to support the growth. And at the end, of course, we will keep the same strategy, which is to deliver regular increase of our profits. And but we will see.
Great. Thank you.
You're welcome.
We're now taking our next question from the line of Celine Panuti at JPMorgan.
Sorry, I allow myself a follow-up because there was no question. I mean, I wanted to dig down a bit more on Consumer. Trying to understand, I mean, it has been one of the division that had been probably slower to rebound. If you could give us a bit of A geographical tour of what has happened on this division, please. Thank you.
Well, 1st of all, because I keep on reading that the division, the consumer product division is a bit Slow start. The consumer market overall is much slower than all the other categories. In sell out, the market is at around 5%. So the fact that we are Slightly above 6%. It is not about performance.
Furthermore, as because people have been talking a lot about makeup, We've had this year to we've had a pretty strong and interesting comparative on hair color. Last year, as all salons were closed, many women, maybe some on the call, rushed To the eyes of supermarkets to buy some L'Oreal Paris Hair Color because it has the same name as L'Oreal Professional and The hair color business of our Consumer Products division went up very strongly, And it was basically offsetting the losses we were having in the Professional division. And when we look at the year to date first half, CPD is minus 7% in hair color. It's the category that's negative versus last year, whilst the PPD is at plus 35%. So we have These compensation effects that are very dear to our strategy that worked both ways.
Overall, if I take CPD, to give you a tour, as you say, the division is gaining strong shares in makeup in the U. S. And in Europe, that's the 3 things we're very happy about. We are gaining share in hair care, which It hadn't been the case beyond Europe for a while in Brazil and in China and now bouncing back in the U. S.
A. Globally gaining share in skincare, particularly in China and Western Europe. And as I said, We are maintaining our share in Hercala, but in selling and it's negative versus last year. So The only, I would say, challenges that remain behind the beyond the Speed of the market itself is our overall exposure to makeup, which is higher in L'Oreal than in the rest of the market. And we have also to continue to accelerate In makeup in Asia, which we are doing right now with 3C, as I mentioned, And with ambitious plans on Nabiline.
But overall, I'm particularly Ambitious for this division. We have great plans, great brands. They are very well positioned. Garnier, which we have not discussed a lot, Has been now clearly positioned as a brand that whose claim is green beauty for all of us, Which is extremely relevant for consumers all around the world. As you may have heard, they've been they've had The animal testing, free of animal testing And that's very important too for the Gen Zs around the world.
So overall, once makeup goes back to the The 2019 level, this division, I think, will be on a roll and the recent good news from North America are pretty encouraging.
We are now taking our next question from the line of Martin Deboo at Jefferies.
Yes, good morning everybody. My question relates Celine's actually, I just wanted to go back to the margin issue and on Consumer. Consumer Products was the only division that saw negative Margin development in H1. And I just wanted to understand a bit better why that was given it still had decent Like for like growth and therefore positive leverage. Was it because it was getting the lion's share of the incremental A and P investment?
Could you just comment on the H1 trend on consumer margins. Thank you.
Well, first of all, if we take if we go back to 2020, CPD was one of the division because at the time, as you remember, because all hair salons were closed, all perfumeries were closed. So The beginning of last year was a pretty strong hit on Lux and TPD. CPD was one of the divisions that last year held It's profits and had a pretty good margin in first half of 2020. So this year as the situation reverses, we consciously decided that because this division is Fighting on a very competitive market to accelerate our investment behind the brands, Behind the launches and we're seeing market share gains, which is very encouraging. So That's something that's I think positive for the future.
And if I may add, Actually, the sellout of the division was bigger than the sell in that we have in our figures. So and we had also to Deal with some one off costs, I'm referring to some shortage that we had in terms of logistics. So we lose some sales mainly Mainly in the U. S. And but we didn't want to decrease our investment in the 1st semester.
And I can tell you that when I look at the media investment of CPD, they were increasing by 17%, again, because We want to push for growth. And if we miss some sales because of volume of stocks, This doesn't prevent us to keep investing for the long term in this division.
Okay. All very clear. Thank you very much.
We're taking our next question from the line of Ian Simpson at Barclays.
Thank you very much.
I just wondered if we
could talk about e commerce a little bit. So clearly, that was a little bit slower in the Q2 year on year, which I assume in large part is just a function of you lapping peak lockdown and the exceptionally strong growth you had Last year in that channel, did you see any impact from consumers returning to bricks and mortar as lockdown lifted in Q2 2021? And are there any regional dynamics you'd call out within e commerce in terms of some geographies doing better than others?
You're right to say. I mean, you kind of gave the answer. It's True that the relative slowdown in Q2 versus last year of e commerce It's totally related to two factors, the fact that last year, e commerce exploded in Q2 because everything closed. And the other factor is that stores are reopening in many countries. Therefore, consumers Going back to do some of their purchases in brick and mortar stores.
If you look at the if I look at ourselves over 2 years, If I take Q2 this year, e commerce our sales of e commerce have doubled versus 2019. So We do not see a slowdown of e commerce. We see now a new pattern, which is what we call online plus offline, where consumers Go back to brick and mortar stores for some purchases, to discover things, to sometimes smell fragrances, but Continuously assess, look at the ratings online and sometimes replenish online. So it's really going to be it's The new world we are going to be living in with consumers being totally fluid between one channel and another. So And that's true all over the world.
And it's true that China being ahead of the curve with a market that's already roughly fifty-fifty. We've seen the growth of e commerce slightly slowing down again versus last year in the first half As stores opening, we're picking up, but the global market, as we said, is at plus 20%. So it's really Something that adds up rather than is taking from one another.
Thank you very much. Are there any geographies where you'd call out you feeling that you're particularly overweight to e commerce? Obviously, China, you've mentioned repeatedly. Any others we should be keeping an eye on?
No, no, we are I think we still have there are many parts of the world where we have Our market share in e commerce is slightly above our market share in brick and mortar, namely because, as you know, and we've discussed that in previous Calls, e commerce algorithms favor famous products from famous brands. So we tend to have a higher share in e commerce, but there are Still lots of opportunities of growth in the U. S. A. As we've discussed.
But e commerce will also, I believe there is a tremendous opportunity in emerging markets as this is the part of the world where We were relatively weak in brick and mortar for lack of the ability to penetrate deep trade. And we're seeing now, if I take South Asia, where the market is still a Shaki, our growth is really driven by e commerce acceleration with clients such as Lazada or Shopee, and That's very promising for the future.
Thanks.
Operator, we will take the last question, please.
Yes. We are taking our last question from the line of Rob Osteenstein at Evercore.
Great. Thank you very much And congratulations all around. I realize this is a tricky question given the dynamics Of 2020 and obviously the natural rebound that you're going to get as things reopen. But as you look at your data And look at the consumer, are there any changes that you see in consumer behavior and attitudes towards beauty Consumer behavior and attitudes towards beauty products coming out of COVID now, Given the trauma of this event, is any changes that you expect On an ongoing basis would be my first question.
Yes. So I very happily answer that one. But Obviously, there were a few short term and conjunctural changes imposed by COVID, which are not going to be lasting. It's the fact that When you don't meet friends and you don't and you wear a mask, you tend to reduce the consumption of fragrance and lipstick. And we are seeing, as I said, that the everywhere The situation eases.
You see the fragrance market exploding and you see the makeup market bouncing back. So these are the conjunctural changes. In a more structural way, what we see with COVID is an acceleration of pre existing trends, but have been really amped up in a major way. One of these trends is digitalization. So the way to shop, to discover the product, to try it with like the apps Such as Molly Phase to try your lipstick without having to touch a tester that's been used by somebody else in a store.
You've got sustainability, which was already on everybody's mind, but has been really the preoccupation has been increased by COVID. And that's why the fact that we've taken on this crusade to make our company green, Carbon neutral and our new commitments in L'Oreal for the future, I think will give us an edge vis a vis other players that are maybe a bit behind In terms of transforming their business model, working on green sciences, so sustainability is the second one. And the third one, which Again, it's, I think, very important and very beneficial to us is that the concern about safety, about health, About what's in the product has increased even more and people are looking for products that they can trust. And being a company that's been there for 110 years with multiplication of control and making sure safety is at the very heart of what we do, Plus the fact that we have this active cosmetics division selling brands like CeraVe or La Roche Posay, which are really The safest brand probably on the planet is extremely positive. And you see that, by the way, in the growth results of Active Cosmetics, which are stellar.
Of course, the products are great. The marketing is great, but it's also just bang on an ascending current, which is very powerful, which is the quest for products you can trust. So that would be my answer To this question about the COVID impact, and you said you had a you were supposed to be the last question. So I guess you're entitled to a second one and then we'll close it Because you were you said you had to begin with your COVID impact question.
Well, just as first as a follow-up to my first question And then the other one. So what I'm hearing then is that the strength in makeup and fragrances That you're seeing is just a rebound from the lockdown. Both of those categories were relatively weak Free COVID, so there's no really sort of secular changes that you're seeing in makeup or fragrances. What you're seeing is just the natural rebound from the lockdown. Just want to make sure I have that right.
Well, what we see from the consumers' behavior post lockdown is that They're craving for socialization. They're craving for products that give them added value. And it's our role to tempt them to stimulate their appetite, and that's what we are doing with our new products. So Fragrance and makeup will go back to growth in a structural way, both by as we The whole beauty market because of the rise of middle and upper classes, because of the development of consumption in China, I mean China is going to Probably the number one VT market in the world. And both in terms of penetration and of spending per inhabitant, we are very far from the level of the U.
S. A. Or countries like Japan. So the good thing is that the whole beauty market will grow. Probably skincare We'll be we'll remain the number one driving engine, but all the others will contribute To what is has been for as long as I can remember in my 34 years at L'Oreal, a very steady growing market across all categories.
Terrific. And then one more micro question, targeted, not no pun intended, but The new relationship between Ulta and Target, you've been very strong, I think, in Ulta. My read from what we hear about the brands are going to be in the Target stores is that, I think you just have 2 brands. So you seem to be under indexed in that new partnership. Can you give us any color around what's going on there?
How those decisions were made and how that fits into your strategy?
I'm not sure I want to enter the details of the commercial strategy of the USA. What I What's interesting, we see that all the U. S. Retailers are trying to find a way to reignite the growth. They're trying new partnership.
You have Alton Target. You've got Sephora at Kohl's. And then the brands that are Present in these stores are always the result of a mutual agreement. And What you see in the stores over there are brands that both Ulta and ourselves are happy to have Within Target, where we have, by the way, a lot of our other brands, we're in Target with all our CPD products. We have a few ACD products.
And Target is a great partner for us. So overall, don't you said no pun intended, but there shouldn't be no pun because we are very happy with relationship with Ulta and Targets together. So we'll see. And I guess that hopefully our forthcoming results in North America will not disappoint you.
Terrific. Thank you very much. And again, congratulations on a fantastic performance.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. So thank you, everyone, for listening, for your questions, and Looking forward to our next meetings and discussions. Have a great day and a great summer.
Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participation. You may now disconnect.