Europe Tissue Deflation persists into August, volume declines accelerate

Equity Research 8 September 2026 | 5:00AM BST

Deflation persists into August, volume declines accelerate

What’s new? Nielsen data for the four weeks to 9 August shows deteriorating trends Aron Adamski | in Western European consumer tissue: volumes declined -5.1% and we estimate Goldman Sachs International mix-adjusted pricing fell -0.6%. Pricing improved versus July, and we expect it to Olivier Nicolaï accelerate through year-end as hikes land and comparisons ease. Facial, bath and | kitchen tissue volumes fell -8.3%, -4.4% and -3.7%, respectively. France declined Goldman Sachs International mid-single-digit, while Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain were down low-single-digit. Bonnie Herzog | Weak volume backdrop is consistent with the recent jumbo-roll industry Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC commentary (more here). Marcio Farid | Adult Incontinence: Sales growth continued but slowed to +2.4%, with volumes Goldman Sachs do Brasil CTVM S.A. broadly flat versus low-to-mid-single-digit growth in recent releases. Mid-single-digit growth in Spain and low-single-digit gains in Germany, the UK, Rebecca Ayo-Adebanjo | rebecca.ayo- France and Italy were offset by weaker trends in other markets. Nielsen covers only Goldman Sachs International brick-and-mortar grocers, which Euromonitor estimates account for 82% of Western Sam Darbyshire, CFA European consumer tissue sales and 45% of retail incontinence sales. | Goldman Sachs International Essity (Sell): European consumer tissue and retail incontinence account for 25% and Tom Hulls 4% of group sales, respectively. Branded volumes rose +1.4%, largely offset by a | Goldman Sachs International -1.3% price/mix decline, but still materially outperformed a declining market. We Srikar Medisetti estimate mix-adjusted pricing fell -1.6%, lagging the broader category. Nielsen does | not separate Essity’s private-label and retailer-brands, which represent 50% of Goldman Sachs India SPL tissue sales. Broader data indicates private-label volumes fell -6.1%, underperforming the market, with mid-single-digit declines in Germany and France. In adult incontinence, Tena inflected to volume share losses as volumes fell -1.4%, although value share increased on +4.1% sales growth. Volumes declined -2.9% in Germany and -0.4% in Spain, while all other tracked countries grew.

Goldman Sachs does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to Analysts employed by non-US affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S.

Arbex: The Suzano/Kimberly-Clark joint venture, covered by Marcio Farid and Bonnie Herzog, respectively, reported a -5.5% sales decline in the latest four-week period, primarily reflecting a -3.9% volume decline against a significantly tougher comparison base. Despite this, Arbex continues to gain volume share, led by France and also the UK, which is its largest market.