Estee Lauder further expands in Africa due to 'strong luxury demand'
Estee Lauder rolled out two of its most successful brands, MAC and Clinque in sub-Saharan Africa back in February in a bid to cater to the strong demand for luxury cosmetics amongst the region's middle class after being “inundated” with requests.
A focus on expansion....
According to managing director Sue Fox, Clinique, with sales of over $1bn, is set to be fully rolled out in Nigeria before the end of the year and in Mozambique in the near future, whilst MAC, already present in Lagos, will expand into Botswana and Zambia.
The company will then turn its focus to cities with high growth potential such as Abuja and Port Harcourt in Nigeria and the capitals of Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola.
"We're very excited about the potential of MAC in Nigeria. That's led us to pursue a strategy that will ensure that we're able to bring the brand to consumers in other markets," Fox told Reuters.
The global player is also about to enter the market in Cote d'Ivoire for the first time through the fragrance sector, which is currently its biggest category in Africa. Currently, it has license agreements with the likes of Tom Ford.
"The potential of Africa, we believe, is extremely positive, and we wouldn't be entering unless we believe that there was long term sustainable growth," the MD adds.
African cosmetics market
According to Euromonitor, the personal care and beauty sector has ballooned from $439.m in 2006 to $595.8m in 2011, with a further increase to $620.2m in 2016
A 2011 report by the African Development Bank claims that the African middle class had grown by 2010 to 34 per cent of the population, or 350 million people.
Another report from the same year claims that middle-class spending on consumer products such as cosmetics is driving much of Africa’s GDP expansion, which has averaged around 5.2 per cent per year since 2001.
