Traditional perfumeries experiencing some 'real gaps in performance'
According to the Federation, despite a market share of 14.5%, perfumes and cosmetics sold through selective distribution channels did not recover like other manufactured goods, following the -9.8% collapse in 2013.
In fact, it was department stores selling prestige perfumes that showed the best performance with +2.6% for meeting the expectations of customers willing to pay for the 'buying experience', in Paris in particular.
The FFPS reports they managed to curb the decrease of their turnovers by -0.1% by the end of the year.
Top brands
According to market analyst The NPD Group,the top 5 brands battling it out in luxury category include; Lancôme’s La Vie est Belle, followed by J'Adore Dior, La Petite Robe Noire, Coco Mademoiselle, and Chanel N°5.
Women's fragrance is the only category driven by innovation this year with a more focused brand strategy on new initiatives for major lines that had been declining - such as Black Opium by YSL, Little Black Dress Couture Guerlain and Kenzo Love Game that the emergence of new concepts,” Mathilde Lion, beauty expert with NPD Group reports.
Make-up helping French prestige market stand its' ground
While not posting figures quite as impressive, the make-up category still maintained its sales level in 2014, with foundation and concealer sales helping the face make-up category return to growth.
Other smaller segments that seemed to connect with consumers were eyebrows products, facial brushes, lip gloss and multi-purpose cosmetics..
It was also a year of two halves it seems, as the first half’s 1.5% decline was then given a boost from August onwards with an, albeit small, 0.1% increase, thanks to performance in fragrance and make-up.
As the French market is very mature, strong growth is not expected going forward; although with new launches planned at the start of 2015, NPD expects the sales will continue as they did in the second half of 2014.
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