Lumene's sales recovered but its margins never did — Finland's cosmetics maker cut jobs

Lumene is a Finnish cosmetics maker based in Espoo, known for skincare and makeup built on Nordic ingredients such as birch sap and arctic botanicals. Its key markets are Finland, Scandinavia, the UK and China. The company is owned by the Nordic investor Verdane, with the Swedish firm Creades holding a 20 percent minority stake taken in early 2025.

After a difficult stretch, Lumene's results had been improving steadily — but its profitability remained weak next to the rest of the cosmetics industry. The market had shifted beneath it: consumers grew more cautious, spending was increasingly driven by promotions and campaigns, and costs rose. Growing sales was no longer enough when the margin on them lagged the sector.

In April 2026 Lumene opened change negotiations covering its Finnish staff outside production, 254 roles in all. The outcome, announced on 19 May, was the termination of 54 contracts — about a fifth of the roles negotiated — with significant changes to 33 more, taking effect in June. It was a restructuring driven not by a collapse in demand but by margins that never caught up.

Cut 54 jobs and restructured 33 roles to shrink the cost base, since growing sales could not fix margins that lagged the sector.

Profitability stayed below the industry average even after sales recovered, so the cost base had to be cut to protect the business

Cosmetics spending grew more cautious and more promotional, squeezing the margin a mid-tier brand could earn on each sale

Rising costs and general market uncertainty hit the whole sector, but a smaller player has less room to absorb them than the big groups

Growing sales is not the same as fixing the business. When margins stay below the sector's, a downturn in spending forces cuts even in a company whose revenue is rising again.

The cuts took effect in June 2026 and were scheduled to run through the end of the year. Lumene said the restructuring was meant to improve profitability and future competitiveness, and it kept its production staff out of the cuts. The company continued to operate across its Nordic, UK and Chinese markets under Verdane's ownership.