An exploration of Berlin
… with a focus on German soaps
Sebamed Seifenfreies Waschstück: powdery, irisy, soft, bitter, and fresh suede leather
Speick Original Seife: hard, clean scent - sunscreen on a beach on slightly chilly mornings at the end of summer, warm, light grey, round and soft pebbles in the sun by the sea, 90s men’s shaving cream freshly mixed with a soft shaving brush
Speick Original Arztseife: strong lemon opening, summery evenings with anti-mosquito candles
A few of November’s highlights in short form:
Osmo AI launches its first teleported scent - Plum 1.0 - here’s the source code and Founder and CEO Alex Wiltschko on the making of
Estée Lauder Companies reported a 5% decline in net sales to $3.36bn for Q1 2025 ending 30th September 2024, driven by weaker consumer sentiment in China and challenges in Asia travel retail, partly offset by growth in Japan and Priority Emerging Markets. Fragrance net sales fell 1%, impacted by global travel retail challenges but supported by growth in EMEA and APAC. Luxury fragrance brand sales saw mid-single-digit growth (with Le Labo up double digits), boosted by investments into direct-to-consumer expansion, particularly freestanding stores
Puig reported a 9.6% rise in net sales to €3.43bn for the first nine months of 2024, with growth across all markets and business segments. Q3 2024 net revenues rose by 11.6% to €1.26bn, driven by an 11.1% increase in net revenues of the company’s largest segment Fragrance and Fashion (with double-digit growth in Niche Fragrance) and a 12.6% growth in net revenues of their largest market, EMEA
Kering reported a 12% revenue drop to €12.8bn for the first nine months of 2024 and a 16% decline in Q3 2024 revenues to €3.79bn, with revenues from its largest company, Gucci, down 25% to €1.6bn and sales at other houses, including YSL and Balenciaga, seeing double-digit declines. Bottega Veneta’s sales rose 5%, boosted by the launch of a new fragrance collection. Key drivers included a slowdown in China and Japan and uneven results across group houses in Western Europe and North America
Hermès reported a 14% revenue increase to €11.2bn for the first nine months of 2024 ending 30th September 2024. Q3 2024 sales grew by 11.3% to €3.7bn, with growth across all regions and sectors except for Watches (one of its smallest divisions). Perfume & Beauty revenues rose by 10.6% in Q3 2024, a period which saw the launch of Barénia, Hermès’ first Chypre by in-house perfumer Christine Nagel
LVMH’s revenues were stable at €60.8bn in the first nine months of 2024, with double-digit revenue growth in Japan and an increase in spending by Chinese customers in Europe and Japan. Perfume & Cosmetics revenues rose by 5%, supported by the performance of Christian Dior’s Sauvage. Q3 2024 revenues declined by 3% to €19.08bn, largely attributed to weaker demand in China and slower growth in Japan
NOBILIS GROUP signs exclusive distribution agreement with Geza Schoen’s Escentric Molecules for the DACH Region starting 1st January 2025
Céline Ellena on “Les Odeurs de Berlin”
New industry appointments and changes
Stéphane de La Faverie appointed CEO and President of Estée Lauder Companies effective 1st January 2025
Jane Lauder steps down from her Chief Data Officer and Executive VP Enterprise Marketing role at Estée Lauder Companies, and will remain on the board
My fragrance of the day: Cashmere Noir by Angela Flanders: light, iris powder veil, warming dark spice, peppercorn, light-coloured, watery rum, paper, deep vanilla
Berlin analogue
- Flo