Nivea's weak recovery weighs on Beiersdorf. The German group, after years of growth led by its flagship Nivea, now sees its weak recovery forcing it to reduce its forecasts. To counteract these effects, the German multinational has announced that it will launch an 18-month recovery plan for Nivea after closing the first half of the year with a 3.5% drop in sales.
Nivea's decline has weighed down the entire consumer segment of the Beiersdorf group, which has registered an organic fall of 4%, and this decline has been mainly caused by a 6.8% decrease in sales. The German group blames this setback on temporary factors, such as conflicts with some distributors, a weaker-than-expected sun care campaign in Europe, the renewal of part of the portfolio, and the crisis in the Middle East.
The recovery plan is designed to be completed in 18 months and will be based on greater innovation, a more adapted offering for each market, and a reinforcement of marketing investment. The company has explained that it will allocate an additional 100 million euros to media and consumer activation during the second half of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year.
However, not everything was negative in this first half of the year for Beiersdorf. The Derma segment grew by 7.8% in the semester, driven by Eucerin and Aquaphor, especially in emerging markets for the company such as North America, Brazil, and China.
La Prairie, the company's luxury brand, has reduced its sales by almost 7% this semester, despite achieving growth in the second quarter of the year after business normalized in US department stores and the retail channel in China.
Given this scenario, Beiersdorf has lowered its forecasts for 2026, as the company has explained that it now expects a low single-digit organic sales decline for the group and an EBIT margin of at least 11.8%, compared to previous forecasts that contemplated slight growth.
The group maintains its strategic roadmap and is confident in recovering sales growth in 2027 and returning to profitable recognition from 2028 onwards.