L'Oreal notes business growth in India and expansion of presence in skincare and e-commerce

The French cosmetics giant L'Oreal reports that its operations in India are demonstrating significant growth. This growth is attributed to improved staff qualifications, increased product localization, accelerated e-commerce, and rising demand for hair and skin care products.

According to the company's latest report, the consumer goods division's business in India showed double-digit growth in the September quarter. Furthermore, the professional products segment noted impressive growth in emerging markets, particularly in Brazil and India.

In the third quarter of 2026, the SAPMENA-SSA region, overseen by L'Oreal, demonstrated adjusted growth of 19.2 percent, with India and Indonesia showing even faster growth rates due to demand for cosmetics and skincare products.

Supporting Growth Through Localization and Digitalization

During a visit to India several weeks ago, global CEO Nicolas Hieronimus noted a strong turnaround in the country, supported by enhanced team quality and a greater focus on developing products tailored for local consumers. He emphasized that the company is now creating much more for India than before.

The company is actively scaling up its e-commerce strategy, with a particular focus on express delivery. Simultaneously, L'Oreal is expanding its skincare brands, such as CeraVe and La Roche-Posay, launching them in new cities to meet the growing demand for specialized skin treatments.

Nicolas Hieronimus stated that India is one of the countries where the CeraVe brand is still in its early stages of development but is growing rapidly and entering new territories. The company also launched La Roche-Posay in India, which is positioned in a higher price segment, and L'Oreal expects these two brands to complement each other in the market.

To strengthen its local presence, L'Oreal completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Innovist—an Indian personal hygiene company focused on digital technology that owns a portfolio of beauty and personal care brands. This acquisition is intended to accelerate L'Oreal's business development in India by strengthening access to the country's fast-growing digital beauty market.

Moreover, L'Oreal's corporate venture fund, BOLD, partnered with Nykaa, India's largest cosmetics retailer, to gain minority stakes in fast-growing Indian brands in the beauty, personal care, and health sectors. The goal of this collaboration is to identify and support new brands in a market where digital platforms play an increasingly vital role in product discovery and purchasing.

L'Oreal's recent investments reflect its strategy to deepen its presence in India by combining its global brand portfolio with locally relevant offerings and digitally driven distribution channels. Overall, in the third quarter of 2026, L'Oreal reported global sales of 11.56 billion euros, which is 7.2 percent higher compared to the same period last year. Sales reached 35.33 billion euros in the first nine months.

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business-standard.comOctober 15, 10:52

Nestle India reports 36% net profit growth and 20% revenue increase in the second quarter

The major Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) producer, Nestle India, presented its second-quarter results, noting a 36.32 percent growth in consolidated net profit to INR 1,026.77 crore for the September quarter of fiscal year 27. This figure was compared to INR 743.17 crore in the same period last year.

The company's revenue from product sales in July-September 2027 fiscal year increased by 20.45 percent, reaching INR 6,782.17 crore, compared to INR 5,630.23 crore the previous year.

Manish Tiwari, Chairman and Managing Director, stated that the quarter was marked by continued strong and broad growth across all product categories. Total sales volume reached INR 6,782.2 crore, demonstrating a 20.5 percent growth, driven by confident double-digit volume increases.

The company continued to focus on operational efficiency while significantly increasing investments in its brands, boosting advertising and marketing expenses by 46 percent. Tiwari also noted that the EBITDA margin remained healthy at 23.8 percent.

Nestle India's total expenses in the reporting quarter rose by 17 percent to INR 5,405.55 crore. The company's domestic sales grew by 20.4 percent, reaching INR 6,514.74 crore in the September quarter of fiscal year 2027, up from INR 5,411.02 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Furthermore, Nestle India's export revenue increased by 22 percent, amounting to INR 267.43 crore. Total income in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027 reached INR 6,808.6 crore, which is 20.52 percent higher than INR 5,649.150 crore the previous year. At mid-day trading, Nestle India shares were trading at INR 1,332.70 on the BSE, down by 3.7 percent.

business-standard.comOctober 13, 17:56

Coworkings Overtake IT/ITeS as Largest Office Space Tenant in India, According to Anarock

According to a study published on Tuesday by Anarock Research & Advisory, the Indian office space market has undergone changes: for the first time in nine months (January-September 2026), coworking spaces became the largest consumer of office space, surpassing the IT/ITeS sector. This shift highlights companies' growing preference for flexible workspaces.

Piyush Jain, Managing Director of Commercial Leasing and Consulting at Anarock Group, commented on the report's findings, noting that flexible workspaces complement traditional leasing rather than replace it. He pointed to a decisive change in the structure of office space tenants.

Jain added that large tenants, particularly Global Corporate Centers (GCCs), are forming an increasingly mixed portfolio. They use long-term, customized campuses for core teams and flexible spaces for running pilot projects, accelerating processes, and expansion. Furthermore, many flexible space operators also lease entire buildings under standard terms.

The Anarock report showed that the coworking sector led overall demand, accounting for 26 percent during the period, exceeding the IT/ITeS figure of 25 percent, as well as the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector with a share of 21 percent. Previously, according to Anarock data, IT/ITeS traditionally held the leading position.

Among key segments, coworking and BFSI increased their share of total office space demand, reaching 47 percent of total leases in the first nine months of 2026, compared to 41 percent in the same period last year.

Forecasts and Strategic Significance

Amit Ramani, Chairman and Managing Director of Awfis Space Solutions Ltd, noted that the emergence of coworking as the largest tenant in the last nine months confirms a structural shift. This is due to enterprises and GCCs increasingly focusing on speed to market, capital efficiency, and flexibility.

Ramani emphasized that flexibility is no longer just an alternative option or a tool for startups; it has firmly become part of the corporate growth strategy. Harsh Binani, Co-founder of Smartworks, stated that managed workspaces will play an increasingly strategic role in meeting businesses' real estate needs. He specified that the capability will be determined not only by area but also by the ability to provide scalable, institutional-level workspace infrastructure in different cities.

Ramita Arora, Executive Director in Bengaluru and Head of Flex at Cushman & Wakefield, observed that modern flexible offices can support a business at every stage of its real estate needs—from establishing a presence to scaling teams and managing a long-term portfolio. The firm's report, released on Tuesday, indicated that the supply of flexible offices in India reached 88.7 million square feet in the first half of the year and is projected to exceed 100 million square feet this year, growing nearly to 160 million square feet by 2030.

Moreover, the report states that GCCs and multinational corporations are increasingly using flexible spaces to enter new markets and expand in existing ones. Arora added that with the emergence of new demand sources, including AI-based businesses, the opportunities within the flexible sector are becoming both broader and more resilient.