Multinational beauty retailer Douglas has reported an uplift in sales for its full-year 2025 results.
Sales increased to €4.58bn, and net income more than doubled to €175.4m, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.8%.
The strong final sales results for 2025 came despite a mixed fourth quarter, which saw adjusted EBITDA decrease 11.4% to €134.3m due to changing consumer behaviour.
Higher price sensitivity, as well as ongoing promotional competition, also affected the final quarter of trading, which was offset by solid sales growth of 2.6%.
“In a very volatile and thus challenging year, we have accomplished results within expectations,” said Sander van der Laan, CEO at Douglas Group.
“Going forward, we anticipate solid overall growth in Europe’s premium beauty market, but observe a changing consumer behaviour compared to the highly dynamic post-pandemic years.”
Having achieved its guidance for the 2025 financial year, Douglas has set out its expected results for 2026 – expecting sales of between €4.65bn and €4.80bn.
To support its growth ambitions in a “further evolving and rebalancing market environment”, Douglas stated it will continue to invest in strategic initiatives – including in IT capabilities and artificial intelligence (AI).
Douglas has also outlined plans to potentially expand outside of continental Europe, as it currently evaluates a market entry in the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Laan added: “As a leading player, we want to take advantage of the opportunities in this phase of market consolidation and rebalancing.
“We have the strength and ambition to further grow and also expect momentum from the ongoing expansion of our store network and by tapping into new markets – also outside of continental Europe.
“That is why we consider a market entry in the Middle East, where we see a great potential for our premium beauty business.”