Skincare maker Beiersdorf is seeing a weakness in demand for skincare products in Latin America, including Mexico in particular, due to US tariffs and political uncertainty, its CEO said on Thursday.
Beiersdorf brands include Aquaphor and Nivea among others – Reuters
The company has also identified a trend of so-called “skinimalism” in other countries, where people buy fewer and often cheaper products and use them less often, Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery said on a call with reporters and analysts.
Beiersdorf warned of a slowing skincare market in emerging countries after announcing its third-quarter results on Thursday. “We used to have an emerging market skin care growing double digits, we end up at a level which is close to low single digits, even negative in some countries,” Warnery said.
“Obviously, Latin America is hit by not only the political uncertainties, but also all the discussions about US tariffs, not US tariffs, and Mexico is a country where, obviously, the market was suffering with that,” he added.
Larger competitor L’Oreal also noted a soft market in Latin America when it announced its third-quarter results late on Tuesday.
Warnery said the company would focus on innovation to counter the trend, which he said was already successful in its derma range, which includes the brands Eucerin and Aquaphor, the category with the worst dynamics in emerging markets.
“We gain market share everywhere,” Warnery said. “We are coming with a much stronger innovation portfolio and much better adapted launch portfolio to emerging markets, so we hope to see some good figures in the months to come.”
