Vincent Warnery, CEO of global consumer products and personal care company Beiersdorf, opened the company’s Q3 earnings call this week by sugarcoating the bitter pill. Warnery highlighted growth in the company’s Derma and Luxury divisions and progress on NIVEA’s turnaround plan before discussing the flagship brand’s continued decline, coupled with weakness in its Tesa adhesives business, which weighed on the group’s results.
Beiersdorf’s Derma division, which includes brands Eucerin and Aquaphor, outperformed the rest of the Germany-based company, posting 10.6% organic sales growth on top of a strong prior-year comparison as the company’s combined Derma business continued to grow faster than the market.
Warnery said that Derma’s growth can partly be attributed to consumers’ appetite for efficacy, scientific credibility, and dermatologist endorsements, which played directly to the company’s strengths. “What gives us confidence is that Derma’s growth is not driven by only one market or innovation. We continue to see strong growth across regions and categories, supported by our expansion into white spaces and the rollout of breakthrough innovations,” Warnery said.
Aquaphor’s expansion into bodycare “contributed to the strong growth trajectory,” according to Warnery, with organic sales growth of 13% in the third quarter. Within six weeks of the July launch, Aquaphor Body had reached the No. 3 position in the US therapeutic skincare market and No. 1 in Derma bodycare in the drugstore channel, according to Warnery.
Warnery also highlighted Eucerin DermoPure Clinical ProBiom8, a new line for acne-prone skin based on Beiersdorf’s microbiome research and expertise gained through its acquisition of S-Biomedic, a life-science company. The line launched in September in select European markets.
While Beiersdorf’s Luxury division didn’t post double-digit growth as Derma did, La Prairie continued its comeback in Q3 after suffering a 14.9% organic sales decline in the first quarter due to retail disruptions in US department stores and Chinese travel retail. In Q2, La Prairie returned to growth and continued the trajectory in Q3, posting organic sales growth of 8.5%.
Warnery credits La Prairie’s recent performance to the strategic restructuring over the past two years, which focused on new leadership, a sharpened luxury brand positioning, and targeted innovations, according to the company.
China remained La Prairie’s key growth driver, with the brand’s net sales rising 28% in Q3, according to Warnery. “Both outstanding e-commerce and impressive brick-and-mortar performance contributed to these results,” he said. “Winning luxury skincare, especially in China, requires differentiated technology and science-based innovation, which plays directly to our strengths. Our ability to succeed in such an environment is demonstrated by the exceptionally strong performance of our White Caviar line, a key growth contributor in China."
Warnery also spoke of La Prairie’s new entry line launched in September, Swiss Pristine, which is generating strong early demand across regions, Warnery said. The more affordable line targets older Gen Z and millennial consumers, addressing skin barrier damage.
Healthcare also grew 5.7%, and Chantecaille posted double-digit growth, according to Warnery.
Flagship brand NIVEA’s net sales declined by 4.9% organically in the third quarter, and excluding Russia, sales declined 3.2% organically. Temporary sell-in headwinds continued to affect NIVEA’s performance in the third quarter, but when compared to Q2, net sales dynamics improved.
NIVEA’s Q3 performance was also affected by a commercial dispute involving Beiersdorf’s Russian subsidiary and a local business partner. Warnery said the dispute had been resolved and normal operations had resumed.
Warnery was opaque when referring to “retailer disputes” continuing to negatively affect the third quarter. He did not identify the retailers or specify the terms of the disputes, despite his transparency on the Q2 earnings call, in which he attributed about 30% of the gap to retailer conflicts, saying retailers wanted deflation. He said most had been resolved, although some would continue to affect Q4.
Phasing and destocking continued to impact NIVEA’s performance, according to Warnery, “While the fourth quarter will still be impacted, we expect this effect to gradually fade, leaving us with healthy stock levels by the end of the year.” Destocking reduced orders as retailers worked through existing inventory, while the timing of product launches and shipments affected comparisons between quarters.
Warnery said NIVEA’s global sell-out growth in Q3 was an early sign that its rebalancing measures were gaining traction. Beiersdorf began rebalancing NIVEA in the second half of 2025 and launched an 18-month turnaround plan in August 2026. NIVEA’s sell-out growth still trails the market.
The plan includes: accelerating the brand’s innovation pipeline to respond faster to changing consumer needs and market trends; reinforcing accessibility and value-for-money propositions; and fully leveraging NIVEA’s local relevance. “While NIVEA remains a global brand, we are increasing our ability to respond to local consumer needs and market dynamics,” Warnery said.
When HSBC analyst Jeremy Fialko asked Warnery for more detail on the sell-out and what factored into the sell-in being below the sell-out, the CEO said that the brand’s “complexity with Russia” strongly impacted its sell-in.
Warnery acknowledged that NIVEA is not yet growing in line with the market, but that the brand gained market share in emerging markets over the last three months. The brand is still struggling in Europe “because of some customer conflicts,” which are almost over, according to Warnery. “All in all, we are getting closer to having the same level of sell-in and sell-out.”
Tesa saw a net sales decline of 4.3% organically due to semiconductor shortages impacting the company’s electronics business. Outside electronics, its broader industry portfolio grew.
Beiersdorf maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, forecasting a low-single-digit organic sales decline for both the group and its Consumer division. The company expects an EBIT margin, excluding special factors, of at least 11.8% for the group and 11.0% for Consumer.
The company’s earnings call left more questions than answers about the NIVEA debacle: How much did each factor contribute to the gap between sell-in and sell-out, and how much of NIVEA’s decline will persist after those pressures ease? Will Warnery deliver on his promise that shipments and consumer sales will align by year-end?
The conglomerate expects NIVEA’s inventory and retailer issues to ease by year-end. What remains less clear is whether the turnaround can restore market share once those pressures fade.
Group: Net sales were €2.362 billion, down 1.3% organically year over year.
Consumer: Net sales were €1.94 billion, down 0.7% organically.
NIVEA (including Labello): Sales fell 4.9% organically to €1.263 billion.
Derma: Sales rose 10.6% organically to €401 million.
La Prairie: Sales rose 8.5% organically to €117 million.
Tesa: Sales fell 4.3% organically to €422 million.
