La Prairie Eyes Pre-Crisis Growth By 2012 Driven By US And China

Beiersdorf’s luxury cosmetics maker, La Prairie, hopes to return to pre-crisis double digit growth by 2012 as the US and Chinese markets start to pick up. In 2009, La Prairie’s sales dropped by 8 percent to 375 million Swiss franc ($324.4 million), compared to the period 2005-2008 when it was growing twice as fast at the luxury cosmetics market that was growing at 7 to 8 percent annually. La Prairie, which is popular for its anti-aging products, some of which can run to $1,000, said it is counting on the US as well as emerging markets to drive future growth. Both markets contribute about 20 percent each to La Prairie’s annual sales with the bulk of its business coming from Europe, but over time this will change as Asian markets grow faster: the head of Shiseido, for instance, expects the high-end cosmetics market in China to grow up to 20 percent a year in the near term.