Prestige Beauty Posts Gains in 2010

U.S. sales of prestige beauty products rose 4% last year to $8.4 billion, according to The NPD Group. The improvement was led by results in skin care categories.


“In 2010, prestige beauty saw a quick recovery in skin care, followed by a gradual upturn in makeup, and finally, a late-year rally in fragrance,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Individually and collectively, as an industry, we saw adroitly and strategically deployed initiatives in product, placement, and pricing that worked to re-engage consumers in prestige, both in stores and online. It is the type of multi-pronged and multi-faceted action that will be key to driving the prestige beauty market in 2011.”


More specifically, fragrance sales rose 1% to $2.5 billion, marking its first gain since 2006. Fragrance launches rose 3%, driven by men’s fragrance launches.


Skin care sales rose 8% to $2.7 billion, and NPD noted that skin care not only gained back what it had lost during the recession, but the category also surpassed pre-recession levels. Launches, which grew 30%, were a major contributor to the total prestige skin care increases, as well as anti-aging products, which grew 12%. Premium face products, ($75 and above), posted a 7% increase.


Finally, makeup sales increased 3% to $3.2 billion. According to NPD, the increase was fueled by the double-digit growth of offerings from primers to anti-aging face products, to rich color options in lip and nail, five of the six segments within makeup posted growth. Three segments either met or outpaced category growth: Face (+3%), Lip (+3%), Nail (+39%). Eye (+2%) and Other Color (+1%) grew, but slightly behind the category. Gift sets declined in dollars, but had a unit growth of 3%.


More info: www.npd.com