In the first quarter of 2024, POLA’s consolidated net sales dropped by 3.0% compared to the previous year, totaling ¥40,886 million. A reduction in sales of the flagship POLA brand primarily drove this decline. Operating income also saw a significant decrease of 26.2% yearly, reaching ¥3,357 million, mainly due to lower gross profit resulting from the decline in net sales.
Ordinary income experienced a 3.2% decline compared to the previous year, amounting to ¥4,675 million, attributed to gains from foreign exchange due to the yen’s continued depreciation. Despite these challenges and the impact of extraordinary losses in the preceding year, profit attributable to owners of the parent company increased by 14.0% year on year, reaching ¥3,126 million.
In terms of brand performance, POLA experienced a decline of 8.4% in revenue to ¥22,161 million from consignment sales despite growth in department stores and e-commerce. In mainland China, revenue also decreased due to worsening business sentiment and challenges from the previous year. On the other hand, ORBIS achieved double-digit growth in both revenue and income, with net sales growing 14.7% to ¥11,446 million, surpassing expectations. The direct selling channel expanded, attracting both new and existing customers. Jurlique witnessed revenue growth, particularly in mainland China and Australia. Losses from brands in the development stage were improved.
Despite the strong performance of department stores and e-commerce, Pola’s overall revenue in Japan decreased due to a drop in revenue from the consignment sales channel. However, there was progress in Online Merges with Offline (OMO) as e-commerce customers also made purchases through other channels. In mainland China, there were challenges with decreased foot traffic in stores. E-commerce net sales were up 5.8% and Dept. store, B2B, etc net sales grew 10.8%.
ORBIS’ direct selling channel experienced double-digit growth in new customer numbers, and per-store net sales in physical stores exceeded pre-pandemic levels. External channels maintained strong performance, with revenue soaring by over 80%.
