Italians do not give up cosmetics, a product essential to everyday hygiene and personal wellness. The data demonstrating this showed consumption of over €9,500 million, with a marginal drop of 1.2% for 2013.

The rise in export of 11 percentage points equalling nearly €3,200, supports the production, 9,300 million euros, a 2.6% increase: the major growth of export both in terms of quantity (+17.5%) and value testifies to the broad competition Italian companies have gained.

New tendencies in consumption are appearing. As a confirmation of the significant transformation under way in consumer purchasing habits, direct door to door sales (over €450 million) and herbalist shops (a value equal to €409 million) show positive trends of 4.5% and 2.8% respectively. Even the pharmacy, after a drop in the previous financial years, is on the rise again, up by 0.3% exceeding €1,750 million.

Pressure on the willingness to consume of large brackets of users has conditioned the drop in sales at perfume shops, (-3.8%) equal to over €2,100 million, as well as in the professional channels: if consumer spending at beauty salons shows a negative trend of 5.5% (242 million euros), hairdressing salons are affected by a decrease of 8.4% (591 million euros).

The mass market, for around €4,300 million, shows substantial stability (+0.1%) characterized by a steady drop in sales over large surface areas (hyper and supermarkets), balanced by growth in the specialized and single-brand chains.

«Besides making the most important channel and product data known – says Fabio Rossello, President of Cosmetica Italia – the different initiatives of the national association of cosmetics industries at Cosmoprof have once again confirmed the widespread growth of the sector with outstanding production, sales and product development. The solidity of the production chain expresses its entrepreneurial capacity and values, elements that maintain competitive edge in Italy and abroad.»