1/9/24
Schwan-STABILO repeats last year's success
• Group: Exceptional growth again thanks to resilience
• Cosmetics: Major increase due to consumer proximity and market upswing
• STABILO: Asia as a winning region
• Outdoor: record sales thanks to nature as a megatrend
Volatile Märkte, Krieg, Inflation und zurückhaltende Verbraucher: Die Schwan-STABILO Gruppe mit ihren drei Geschäftsfeldern Kosmetik, Schreibgeräte und Outdoor stand erneut vor großen Herausforderungen. Dennoch konnte der Aufwärtstrend des Vorjahres fortgesetzt werden - auch aufgrund dieser anderen Ausrichtung. Im abgelaufenen Geschäftsjahr 2022/23 (30. Juni 2023) erzielte das Familienunternehmen einen Umsatz von 850,3 Mio. Euro (Vorjahr: 745,3 Mio. Euro) und wuchs damit erneut kräftig um rund 14%. Alle drei Teilkonzerne trugen zu diesem Umsatzwachstum bei. Die Kosmetik erzielte einen Umsatz von 387,2 Mio. Euro. (Der Bereich Outdoor erreichte mit einem Umsatz von 245,0 Mio. Euro (Vorjahr: 216,0 Mio. Euro) ebenfalls eine neue Bestmarke und steigerte sich um +13%.Die STABILO Bleistiftsparte erzielte einen Umsatz von 217,9 Mio. Euro (Vorjahr: 215,8 Mio. Euro) und konnte sich in einem schwierigen Marktumfeld mit +1,0% behaupten. Das Wachstum wurde konzernweit in allen Kernmärkten in Europa, den USA, Asien und Lateinamerika erzielt. Mit Ausnahme von Deutschland waren die Wachstumsraten überall zweistellig.
Sebastian Schwanhäußer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO):
“This success was extraordinary. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we still had to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. We could not have foreseen such a positive financial year. We are therefore all the more pleased that, by joining forces, we as a Group have succeeded in leveraging the strengths of each business division and flexibly coping with the respective circumstances. In the Cosmetics division, for example, we were able to use our expertise to win back important business after the pandemic and at the same time increasingly conquer indie brands. These are small brands with a big impact on social media platforms. Our outdoor brands are still in demand as exercise in nature is booming, presumably as an antidote to the disturbing news situation in the world. Creativity has a similar effect, with our pen division recently scoring particularly well with Asian users. The Group result achieved is a global team effort that we can be proud of. Unfortunately, the outlook for the current year is much more subdued. The depressing geopolitical situation with an increasing number of crisis regions, a continuing reluctance to spend, particularly in Europe, and the associated reticence of our trading partners: We are feeling the effects in all three business areas. Once again, we need good answers to this. Nevertheless, we are sticking to our long-term growth strategy and are continuing to expand our business activities worldwide with additional investments - over three million more than in the previous year.”
Tomás Espinosa, CEO of Schwan Cosmetics
, takes stock as follows:
“The past financial year was very successful at EUR 387.2 million (previous year: EUR 312.3 million), we are pleased to report renewed growth of 24%, which was more than double that of the market. All key operating figures across all locations also improved. A key factor in this success was the strong demand for color cosmetics worldwide after the coronavirus lockdown measures were lifted. The market upturn was noticeable for everyone, whether luxury or mass market, and led to increased sales in all four of our product segments 'Eyes, Lip, Face, Brow'. However, make-up for lips and eyes was particularly in demand. Here too, we were able to increase sales thanks to our exceptionally wide range of new products, textures and colors. In addition to the catch-up effect, we also benefited from being close to current social trends. This enabled us to win new projects and customers, such as indie brands. These brands are fast, authentic and use social media in particular - known as the “TikTok effect” - and they are growing faster than the market in all regions. We also had the right offering for the demand across all brands for cosmetic products whose ingredients are 'clean', i.e. above all sustainable and at the same time perfect to use. Sustainability has long been anchored in our innovation process. The new “ONE Schwan” strategy also had an impact. Our global production and sales network was deployed efficiently and enabled us to be more flexible in meeting customer requirements. We are pleased to report that Europe has once again become our largest sales region. North and South America also grew significantly, as did the entire Asia-Pacific region and China in particular. Here we were able to successfully launch our first product, a gel eyeliner developed and manufactured exclusively for China.” Looking ahead, Tomás Espinosa says: “External factors continue to be difficult. Like everyone else, we are seeing persistent inflationary pressure. On top of this, demand is now also slowing down. We must therefore continue to innovate while keeping a close eye on efficiency and competitiveness.”
Horst Brinkmann, CEO of STABILO
in the review and outlook
“STABILO performed well in a very dynamic business environment with many challenges and once again recorded slight growth at EUR 217.9 million (previous year: EUR 215.8 million). After a very positive start to the financial year, we felt the effects of the war in Ukraine, inflation and the sharp rise in the cost of energy and materials from the fall onwards. We also had to make a major price adjustment with our trading partners, although this did not offset the entire cost increase for energy and materials. The fact that we are well equipped with our strategy of different focus markets worldwide was once again confirmed by the strong double-digit growth outside Europe. In Asia, particularly in China, we achieved considerable growth despite the prolonged Covid restrictions. In Europe, on the other hand, strong demand declined following the pandemic, with retailers and consumers acting cautiously. As a pleasing milestone in the IT area, the new ERP system went live worldwide in February without a hitch. We were able to deliver from day one, an outstanding team performance and a guarantee for the future viability of the entire organization. In the current year, the focus is on the further development of the “STABILO 2030” corporate strategy. Our updated brand strategy is embedded in this. To this end, we regularly analyze social trends and the resulting trends in the use of our products. A proximity that also flows into product development. For example, we launched a highlighter with black ink on the market for the first time: far removed from the basic idea of marking text passages, but desired by creative users as an additional color. New technological responses to trends arise when we combine our core business of pens with digital products and services, such as the STABILO EduPen Neo for the diagnosis and promotion of motor skills in writing.” Looking ahead, Horst Brinkmann assumes that “the economic situation will continue to be characterized by weak markets and weak consumption. However, we are confident that we will hold our own in the long term thanks to our investments in our future viability.”
Martin Riebel, CEO of the Outdoor segment
summarizes as follows:
“We had a very good year. With sales of EUR 245 million (previous year: EUR 216.9 million), the Outdoor Group with its four brands deuter, ORTOVOX, Maier Sports and GONSO set a new record in the 2022/23 financial year and increased the previous year's record result by a good 13 percent. We also felt the effects of the energy crisis and inflation. However, the influence of the current megatrends of health, sustainability and individualism had a greater impact. In a world that is spinning ever faster with more and more external influences, people are increasingly looking for a balance. Recreation in nature and activities that clear the mind play a major role in this - and we simply have the right products. What all our outdoor brands have in common are strong values: whether it's a passion for mountain sports, the safety of people in the mountains or the big issue of sustainability - they are all honest and authentic. Two successes were particularly pleasing. Firstly, ORTOVOX achieved its goal of becoming climate-neutral in 2023, one year earlier than planned.
On the other hand, deuter came up trumps in its 125th anniversary year of all years. With a new brand image and thanks to major catch-up effects from Covid times, deuter grew far faster than the market and is currently the strongest brand in our portfolio. The regional distribution of sales was stable, with growth in Europe, South America and Asia. Above all, our young sales subsidiary in China performed above average, confirming our decision to invest in this market. After all, people in China are also increasingly escaping the stress of megacities to find peace and balance in nature and while hiking.” For the future, CEO Martin Riebel emphasizes: “The uncertainties will not diminish. Our retail partners' warehouses are full, consumer restraint is continuing, and outdoor is still subject to the 'x factor', the weather, which generally makes orders more unpredictable. Even if the 2023/24 financial year is likely to be somewhat more difficult, we are confident about the future. After all, we have innovative products and attractive brands that deliver what they promise, as well as increasingly stable processes that allow us to react flexibly to changes.”
Images for this press release