Italian Beauty Sector Rebounds

The Italian beauty industry is growing again, albeit at a slower pace than in the past, according to statistics from Unipro, the Italian beauty trade association. In the first nine months of this year, the industry posted a modest 1.9% increase to 6.17 billion euros, or $8.14 billion at average exchange. However, exports surged, rising 6.5% to 2.17 billion euros, or about $2.86 billion, during the period.

By distribution channel, sales in perfumeries rose0.6% sales increase in the first quarter, and a 1.2% rise in the second. Last year, sales in this channel fell 3.5%. Beauty sales in pharmacies increased about 5% in the second quarter of 2010 in this channel.

According to Unipro, one of the fastest ways to grow sales again is via the internet. The association said about 46%t of Italian beauty companies utilize their internet sites as a product window, an increase of almost 8% compared with 2009. Some 80% of retailers have a new internet site this year.

Still, more work needs to be done. Only 25% of retailers consider e-tailing important and only 5% are selling to the final consumer, according to Unipro research. One-third of the industry is said to be evaluating e-commerce, an 18% rise compared with last year, which, according to Franchina, is a clear sign the industry’s future retail landscape is set to diversify.