DOUGLAS Group vs Dove

DOUGLAS Group reports third quarter results in line with expectations and confirms full-year guidance

Q3 sales declined 2.0% to 987.8 million euros, adjusted EBITDA margin 12.9%; full-year guidance confirmed for FY 2025/2026.

DOUGLAS Group publishes 9M FY 2025/26 Interim Statement and Results Presentation

New interim statement for the first nine months of fiscal year 2025/26, along with a results presentation and a webcast recording of the financial results.

Douglas shifts to digital after weak core markets

Douglas Group reported weaker Q3 2025/26 results as demand softened in key Western European markets and price competition intensified. April–June revenue fell 2.0% to €987.8m and adjusted EBITDA declined 19.4% to €127.5m (margin 12.9%). Nine-month revenue rose slightly (+0.5% to €3.61bn) while adjusted EBITDA fell 9.0% to €577.3m. The company confirmed its full-year guidance for 2025/26 and said it will increase its digital focus, review and rationalize its store network, expand exclusive brands and cross-channel services, and standardize group-wide structures. E‑commerce trends vary regionally (double-digit growth in parts of Southern/Central Europe and France but declines in DACHNL), Retail Media revenue grew 24%, and Click & Collect Express usage rose. Douglas plans to present a strategy update (“Let it Bloom”) in Q4 2026 emphasizing technology, e‑commerce, cross‑channel services, and a more profitable store footprint.

• Douglas Group Q3 (Apr–Jun 2025/26) revenue: €987.8 million, down 2.0%.
• Adjusted EBITDA in Q3 fell 19.4% to €127.5 million; adjusted EBITDA margin: 12.9%.
• Nine-month revenue increased 0.5% to €3.61 billion; nine-month adjusted EBITDA decreased 9.0% to €577.3 million (margin 16.0%).

Unilever's Al Hajji: Attention is Hard to Earn, Easy to Lose

At The Drum Live, Unilever's Chief Growth and Transformation Officer for Personal Care, Rani Al Hajji, discussed the company's 2026 World Cup sponsorship. He emphasized that attention is now extremely difficult to earn and easy to lose, making relevance crucial. Unilever activated 35 brands across 120 markets, using a 'poetry and plumbing' approach: creative brand ideas supported by a system of creators, content, data, and commerce. Brands like Dove, Sure, and Lynx developed distinct roles, with physical hubs (House of Fresh) in major cities to engage creators and consumers. Al Hajji stressed the importance of selecting creators for community fit over reach, and the need to integrate commerce to turn attention into demand. He acknowledged that results are not yet official but sees potential for a repeatable demand generation system.

• Unilever activated 35 brands across 120 markets for the 2026 World Cup.
• The company created physical hubs called 'House of Fresh' in New York, Miami, and Mexico City.
• Dove, Sure, and Lynx each had distinct brand activations during the tournament.

Dove: 20+ Years of the 'Real Beauty' Campaign

This feature retrospective (published 2026-08-13) reviews over 20 years of Dove's 'Real Beauty' campaign, originally launched in 2004. The article notes that Dove (a Unilever brand) and agency Ogilvy created the 'Real Beauty' platform and presents what the authors consider the ten most moving advertisements and appearances from the campaign's history. The piece positions 'Real Beauty' as a benchmark for values-driven brand campaigns and traces its origin to a Dove brand relaunch roughly 22 years ago.

• Dove and Ogilvy created the 'Real Beauty' campaign platform in 2004.
• Dove is identified as a Unilever brand in the article.
• The article is a retrospective showcasing the ten most notable 'Real Beauty' ad appearances from over 20 years.

Dove 'Beauty Machine' OOH Reveals Algorithmic Beauty Bias

Dove, with lead agency Ogilvy UK, launched an experiential Out-of-Home installation called "The Beauty Machine" to demonstrate how social-media recommendation algorithms favor a narrow, homogeneous beauty ideal. The travelling installation appeared in London (Waterloo Station), Hamburg and at Cannes Lions, showing composite masks derived from thousands of social media images to illustrate algorithmic repetition. The campaign includes a #DoveOpenCall asking women to submit unfiltered photos that will be amplified via OOH and social channels. Dove positions the activation within its long-running "Real Beauty" platform; Unilever reports Dove remains a growth driver in H1 2026. The initiative also references academic research and a 2025 Leibniz-Institute report calling for algorithmic interventions to increase visible diversity online.

• Dove and lead agency Ogilvy UK created the travelling OOH installation "The Beauty Machine" shown in London (Waterloo Station), Hamburg and Cannes.
• The installation used custom masks generated after analyzing thousands of social media images to create an algorithmic composite labeled the "One Face of Beauty."
• The campaign includes a public #DoveOpenCall for women to submit unfiltered photos to be used in subsequent OOH and social creative.