Finance
Nivea-Maker Beiersdorf's Sales Fall in First Quarter as Disruptions Hit
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 21, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 21, 2026
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Beiersdorf’s Q1 organic revenue fell 4.6% year‑on‑year to €2.48 billion, weighed down by weak Nivea growth and setbacks in Chinese travel retail and U.S. department stores impacting La Prairie luxury sales.
Beiersdorf sales slip as Nivea and La Prairie struggle in first quarter
Beiersdorf's First Quarter Performance Overview
April 21 (Reuters) - German consumer goods group Beiersdorf reported a drop in its quarterly sales on Tuesday, hurt by soft growth in its flagship Nivea brand and disruptions in Chinese travel retail and U.S. department stores for its luxury La Prairie brand.
Nivea Brand Performance
Sales of Nivea, the company's flagship skin and body care brand, fell 7% organically due to trade-related tensions in Europe and a challenging mass market, while sales of its Eucerin and Aquaphor brands jumped 8.2% organically thanks to recent product innovations, Beiersdorf said.
Growth in Eucerin and Aquaphor
It reported a 14.9% organic drop in sales of La Prairie after disruptions in the U.S. department store channel and in travel retail in China, both factors that the Hamburg-based company said were temporary.
La Prairie and Other Brands
La Prairie Sales Decline
The group's first-quarter revenue fell 4.6% organically to 2.48 billion euros ($2.92 billion), compared with 2.69 billion euros a year earlier.
Temporary Disruptions Impacting Sales
The skincare company confirmed its guidance for 2026 and said positive dynamics in sales from retailers to the final consumer indicated an improvement over the coming quarters after underperformance in the first three months of the year.
($1 = 0.8489 euros)
(Reporting by Bernadette Hogg and Orest Dovhan, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Key Takeaways
- •First‑quarter organic sales declined 4.6% to €2.48 billion from €2.69 billion a year earlier, as Nivea underperformed and La Prairie suffered disruptions in China and the U.S. travel‑retail market.
- •In its full‑year 2025 results published in March 2026, Beiersdorf flagged that early‑2026 sales are expected to remain soft due to continued headwinds in the U.S. retail and China travel‑retail sectors, along with slower innovation impact at Nivea (beiersdorf.com).
- •For 2026, the company projects organic sales to be flat to slightly growing, while acknowledging margin pressures from rising raw material costs, unfavorable FX and limited cost‑leveraging opportunities despite ongoing marketing support (beiersdorf.com).
References
Frequently Asked Questions about Nivea-maker Beiersdorf's sales fall in first quarter as disruptions hit
1Why did Beiersdorf's quarterly sales fall?
Beiersdorf's sales dropped due to soft growth in its Nivea brand and disruptions in Chinese travel retail and U.S. department stores affecting La Prairie.
2What was Beiersdorf's revenue in the first quarter?
Beiersdorf reported first-quarter revenue of 2.48 billion euros, compared to 2.69 billion euros a year earlier.
3Which brands contributed to Beiersdorf's decline?
The company's flagship Nivea brand and the luxury La Prairie brand both contributed to the sales decline.
4What is the percent drop in Beiersdorf's organic sales?
Beiersdorf's first-quarter sales fell by 4.6% organically.
5How did disruptions in retail impact Beiersdorf?
Disruptions in Chinese travel retail and U.S. department stores negatively impacted La Prairie's sales.
