E-commerce grew nearly 80% for Estee Lauder in China during Q2.

Online sales keep growing for cosmetics, fragrance and skincare products maker Estee Lauder Cos. and should exceed $1 billion for the first time in fiscal 2016, CEO Fabrizio Freda told analysts on the company’s Q2 2016 earnings call.

Estee Lauder, No. 73 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, does not break out online sales, however Freda pegged overall e-commerce and mobile commerce growth combined at nearly 30% for the quarter compared with the same period a year ago. And more than a third (36%) of online shoppers bought using mobile devices.

Online sales on Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) in North America and on Singles’ Day in China (Nov. 11) helped spur the growth.

“On Cyber Monday, sales on our North America brand sites were more than 50% higher than last year,” Freda told analysts, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “On Singles’ Day in China, sales on our five flagship sites on Tmall more than doubled, led by Estée Lauder and Clinique.”

China in particular is becoming more important to Estee Lauder’s overall online sales growth strategy. During the second quarter alone, online sales in the country grew almost 80% year over year, with e-commerce accounting for almost 13% of overall sales in China, according to chief financial officer Tracey Thomas-Travis.

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“There is an enormous amount of growth opportunity in China,” Freda said. “If you have multiple engines of growth, you can operate in new cities. You can operate online. You can operate in new, growing segments like some makeup and some fragrance, high-end fragrance segments.”

For the second quarter ended Dec. 31, Estee Lauder reported:

  • Net revenue of $3.13 billion, up 2.6% from $3.05 billion during the same time last year.
  • Revenue in the Americas region of $1.23 billion, up 2.5% from $1.20 billion last year.
  • Net earnings of $448.4 million, up 2.4% from $437.7 million last year.

For the first six months of fiscal 2016, Estee Lauder reported:

  • Net revenue of $5.96 billion, up 4.9% from $5.68 billion during the same time last year.
  • Revenue in the Americas region of $2.50 billion, up 7.8% from $2.32 billion last year.
  • Net earnings of $755.5 million, up 13.8% from $663.8 million last year.
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