Dolce&Gabbana beauty accelerates
The year 2026 opens with the relaunch of The One fragrances and the goal of reaching EUR 2.5 billion in retail sales in 2026 and reaching EUR 3.2-3.3 billion in 2028 after the 15-20% increase in the year just ended
"Tu mi fai girar, tu mi fai girar come fossi una bambola..." is the verse of the famous song by Patty Pravo: this time, however, it is not the Venetian artist who sings it, but the pop star Madonna, the new testimonial chosen by Dolce&Gabbana for the re-launch campaign of the fragrance The One - after that of Light Blue - three years after the decision of the founders of the fashion maison, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, to take back the direct management of the beauty business without external licences. A strategy that sees the brand grow between innovation and expansion abroad, from America to the Middle East to India, under the guidance of Gianluca Toniolo, ceo of Dolce&Gabbana Beauty.
"We are doing very well, we are satisfied with our numbers, but we are a rare fly in a beauty sector that has revised its growth prospects downwards in a context undermined by critical issues such as US tariffs, exchange rates, and the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Palestine and Israel," Toniolo says. In our third year of business, we are on track with our plan to reach EUR 2.5 billion in retail sales in 2026, to reach EUR 3 billion in 2027 and EUR 3.2-3.3 billion in 2028 after the 15-20% increase in the year just ended".
Leading this growth trend is America, which accounts for about 55% of total sales - with the US in the lead - followed by Europe and the Middle East with 38% and the Asia Pacific region with 7%.
"Despite the difficulties that came with the US tariffs and the contraction of beauty consumption in the US market," explained the CEO, "the fragrance market grew by 5.6% at the end of the first week of December, we were up 16% and positioned ourselves as the eighth fragrance brand. In Latin America we grew by 20 per cent - driven by Mexico, Argentina and Brazil which is on the upswing - as well as in Asia Pacific, while Europe is stable. Our workhorses in 2025 were Light Blue, which was well received worldwide after the relaunch, and the Devotion family, especially after the launch of My Devotion, a floral olfactory variant that broadened the consumer base and surprisingly also conquered the Middle East. Suffice it to say that in November it was in the top 5 of fragrances in Sephora perfumeries across the Gulf".
Perfumes, but not only. The focus of the maison was also make-up: "We are present in 71 countries and in over 1,100 points of sale between department and speciality shops," adds Toniolo. "Make-up is in the top five in the shops where it is present. Then last April, we entered skincare with the Fresh line, which is performing very well because it has a different positioning from classic skincare as it aims to improve the appearance of the skin to prepare it for make-up".
