Fragrance and make-up drive strong growth in France
one of the biggest in the world - has shown significant growth
thanks to strong marketing and retail campaigns.
The figures show that the cosmetics market managed to battle tight economic conditions which have led to lower spending power for many French citizens, recording growth in both the volume and value of sales. "Despite a turbulent economy and the low morale of its countrymen, the French market for cosmetics has maintained strong growth throughout 2007 thanks to the power of retailers and significant investment in media campaigns to promote brands," said Martine Ringwald, vice president Beauty Trends Europe. Likewise, Ringwald also mentioned that distributors of personal care and cosmetics products have capitalised on these media campaigns without dropping retail prices. Total sales of skin care, fragrance and colour cosmetics grew by 4.5 per cent in France during 2007 to reach €2.9bn. Lower volume growth boosted by higher retail prices This figure represented a 2.4 per cent growth in volume, which in turn represents how much retail pricing helped to further boost the figure. Breaking the total figure down, sales of fragrance grew by 5 per cent to reach €1.8bn, while body care grew by 3 per cent to reach €652m and colour cosmetics grew by 4.8 per cent to reach €389m. The fragrance market benefited particularly from launches of new male fragrances, which grew by 50 per cent compared to 2006, and the good general state of the female fragrance category. Likewise the colour cosmetics market continues to perform dynamically, driven by new additions to existing lines, which represented 15 per cent of the total sales in 2007. Launches from 2006 help drive figures for 2007 Likewise, major launches made in 2006, including Rouge Allure et Intimitable by Chanel and Rouge Dior, continued to have a big bearing on the performance of the category in 2007. Sales of skin care products stabilised during 2007, the report says, with volume of sales increasing by only 0.5 per cent, which was counterbalanced by increased retail prices. The biggest gains in the skin care segment came from premium anti-ageing products aimed at women, where products priced over €150 now represent one sixth of the total sales for the anti-ageing segment. Although the number of premium anti-aging products launched on the market showed a slight decline in 2007, pricing more than made up for this shortfall, with the average price of a product rising from €43 in 2006 to €48 in 2007 - a rise of 12 per cent, the report says.
