The recovery in the French beauty care products market in 2007 has been confirmed by the latest figures which show a pick-up helped by successful launches of men's perfumes and a care products segment helped by an increase in top of the range and higher priced items. A report from Paris-based market analyst NPD shows a 4.5% rise to €2.9bn in the selective distribution market led by the Sephora and Marionnaud chains. This follows a 3% increase in 2006 and a downturn of 2.2% in 2005.
The perfume sector, which accounts for about 64% of the selective beauty products market, was the most dynamic last year, growing by 5% in value to €1.8bn despite a disappointing December when sales nudged up by 1.1% compared with 5.8% in December 2006. Sales of perfumes were driven by the market strength of men's products with sales generated by new products such as Diesel Fuel for Life and Hugo XX rising by 50% over their level in 2006.
The care products segment increased sales by 3% to around €652m. The cosmetics groups continued to develop products towards the top of the range, especially in the anti-ageing area, and items costing more than €150 accounted for a sixth of total anti-age product sales. Premium items for women's facial care saw an average price rise of 12% to €48 in the reporting year while the make-up products market expanded by 4.8% to €389m.