German men embrace cosmetics and propel sales
According to German news magazine, Der Spiegel, men's cosmetics sales rose 10% in Germany last year, outpacing women's sales in what was a poor year for the industry as a whole.
According to German news magazine, Der Spiegel, men's cosmetics sales rose 10% in Germany last year, outpacing women's sales in what was a poor year for the industry as a whole.
The magazine was quoted as saying German men are now "eitel wie nie", literally translated as “vain as never before”. According to industry body Vertriebsfirmen Kosmetischer Erzeugnisse (VKE), German men are regularly applying anti-wrinkle creams, face and bodycare products and even eyeliner, pushing up sales in the men's cosmetics sector.
While total sales in 2007 went up by only 0.9%, men's sales put on strong growth and the sector posted record-level sales. VKE president, Gunter Thoss, commented that men had been discovering cosmetics for themselves, had accepted them and were now happily experimenting with them.
In the women’s segments, sales of classic make-up products such as lipstick, nail varnish and mascara had risen 5.8%. While the bodycare segment, in contrast, had expanded by little more than 1.4% and sales of facial care products had also fallen by about 3.8%.
VKE has predicted that sales for 2008 are expected to rise by about 2%, with growth coming mainly from make-up products and men's cosmetics.