They are probably shifting from some brands to other brands. Maybe the level of promotionality that this market reached in the last 1,000 years is a kind of maximum and then there is a kind of they are looking for what are the new brands that can speak to their needs without being too promotional, without being too much into this world or where you buy only if there is a promotion. And there, our brands are doing well, specifically, Lancaster, which is the main brand that we have in this country, specifically online. The brand is continuing to see momentum because it is growing month after month. We have started, as you remember, with the Ligne Princiere, and now we are adding next to Ligne Princiere a focus on sun care because this brand is really seen as the epitome of what this high end sun care protection is, and we are also adding new innovations that are about to land in the market in Jan 2024.
So that is a bit long, but that is what we saw since a week now in Shanghai. Hainan, we did not go there. I have to say, not this time. But our progression a day. You have heard it and you have seen it during the script and the earning release. It is very, very strong, in fact, specifically behind Lancaster but also behind brands light fluid.
Operator: Our next question will come from Filippo Falorni with Citi. Please go ahead. your line is open.
Filippo Falorni: So clearly, very strong start to the fiscal year with 18% like for like sales growth. So maybe, Sue, can you comment on like what drove the upside relative to the guidance you provided in September? You mentioned a lot of drivers in your prepared remarks, but maybe you can rank them in terms of category growth, innovation, contribution? And then thinking ahead of your guidance for the first half, it does imply a bit of a slowdown in fiscal Q2 to 4% to 8% like for like sales growth. So maybe what is the driver? Was there any pull forward of shipments in Q1 versus Q2? Any color there would be helpful.
Laurent Mercier: Good morning, Filippo. So in fact, what drove this upgrade of the guidance during the quarter is the fact that the, number one, the continues to be very, very strong. 10% of growth of the fragrance market. This is really a fantastic figure. On top of 10% in Q1 fiscal 2023. So again, when we discussed it several times since the beginning of this fragrance index phenomenon, we really try to explain as much as we could that this is everything but something that is a onetime event, and everything has to do with a very profound shift in terms of who are the people who are buying, what they are buying, how they are premiumizing and how social media in a way is holding this consumption globally in the different regions around the world.
So the market continues to be very good, very strong and very dynamic. And the best way to see it is also in the performance of the company. So on the market that was 10%, Prestige fragrances grew by 25%. So two times and half the growth of the market. Of course, there is a lot of pipeline of new innovations, but these innovations they are all delivering very strongly. Of course, there is everything we told you about Burberry Goddess that has become a Top six fragrance in the U.S. I said it recently published in China. In many markets, it is inside the Top 10, and this is for sure the number one innovation in all the markets around the world. But it is not the only one. In fact, you have to know that we don’t have one brand growing in the high 20s, not two, not three, not four, we have seven brands inside that are growing in the high 20s, some of them with innovation and some of them without innovation.
So this is also — I’m sorry to say it, but I am not sorry, I am proud to say it, this is the good work we are doing at Coty, at creating incredible, exciting, the highly-performing innovations in this area of the fragrance world. So that is what it really explains the upgrade of the guidance. We knew that, Goddess would be big, but the jury was debating, is it going be big, very big or extraordinary big. So this is what we are seeing is that, this is going to be quite big, if I have to say. So second element is the question around how Q2 will land. So you have to know that Q1 is typically a spike in cost. What we piped the Burberry Goddess, we have been piping also a Gucci — innovation and also a bus eviction innovation. Q2 is really a quarter of sales, as you know, and the picture that is implied means that, we are going to continue to have a very good performance, probably inline with the market or slightly above of the market.
So that is more or less what we believe is going to be. Hopefully, we have a good surprise. But so far, it does not mean there is a deceleration, it just means that, we are all about sell out versus selling to sell out in the first quarter.
Operator: Our next question will come from Korinne Wolfmeyer with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. your line is open.
Korinne Wolfmeyer: Good morning and thanks for taking the question. Congrats on the quarter. So I would like to piggyback off of the China Hainan question. I would like to better understand, what are seeing with selling versus sellout for both China and Asia Travel Retail, and if it is not normalized yet, when do you think that should normalize? Also any early reads from 1/11 pre-sales. And then lastly, I would like see if there is any commentary you can share on any potential pressure with some of the Middle East tensions that we are seeing? Thank you.
