Estée Lauder is looking to strengthen its ecommerce opportunities in China. Its third quarter results revealed that its online business in China had the fastest growth and accounted for nearly 10% of sales.
“Sales in makeup and fragrance continued to accelerate, creating greater diversification in our Chinese business,” said Fabrizio Freda, president, CEO and director of Estée Lauder in an earnings call. “As an example, our Jo Malone business more than doubled, with strong momentum in both department stores and freestanding stores.”
Tracey Thomas Travis, CFO and executive vice president of Estée Lauder, said sales in the Asia Pacific region grew 5% in the quarter, adding every market in the region grew except for Hong Kong, which was down in the double digits.
Korea was the largest contributor to net sales growth, rising 14% in the quarter. This was followed by Japan, Australia and Taiwan. Chinese net sales rose by 5%, led by growth 70% in ecommerce and m-commerce sales.
Daniela Forte is Multichannel Merchant’s Associate Editor