2017 performance of top 20 US beauty and personal care multinationals; blockbuster hopes for new Ariana Grande fragrance; Macy's continues Bluemercury expansion to take on Sephora and Ulta; European beauty and personal care market reaches US$90.7 billion.
2017 performance of top 20 US beauty and personal care multinationals
In almost every industry, including beauty and personal care, it's the major players who are making the biggest strides in cutting carbon emissions and reformulating packaging to limit their impact on the environment. It's heartening to see that all of the household names in the latest rankings of the global revenues of US-based beauty and personal care multinationals have filed reports on their sustainability efforts.
- Procter & Gamble - US$40.3 billion
- Colgate-Palmolive - US$13.1 billion
- Estee Lauder Companies - US$11.8 billion
- S.C Johnson - US$10 billion
- Coty New York - US$7.6 billion
- Johnson & Johnson - US$7.4 billion
- Ecolab Inc - US$4.8 billion
- L Brands (Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works ) - US$4.7 billion
- Mary Kay - US$3.2 billion
- Amway - US2.9 billion
- Clorox (owner of Burt's Bees) - US$2.7 billion
- Church & Dwight (Batiste, Nair, Viviscal) - US$2.6 billion
- Diversey - US$2.6 billion
- Revlon - US$2.6 billion
- Guthy-Renker (Proactiv) - US$1.6 billion
- Rodan + Fields - US$1.5 billion
- Young Living Essentials Oils - US$1.5 billion
- NuSkin - US$1.4 billion
- New Avon - US$900 million
- Newell Brands - US$820 million
Blockbuster hopes for new Ariana Grande fragrance
Ariana Grande's first two fragrances – Ari and Sweet Like Candy – sold more than 220,000 units in Australia. In the run-up to Christmas last year, the triple platinum superstar dovetailed the Australian leg of her Dangerous Woman World Tour with the the launch of Moonlight. On October 11th, Ariana's latest release – Cloud – will hit the shelves in Priceline and Chemist Warehouse before rolling out to selected pharmacies by the end of the month, says Escentials Brands general manager Nicole Bowman.
It's a different strategy to the first three fragrances which debuted in Priceline only and hopes are high worldwide as Grande's blockbuster releases continue to buck the trend of declining celebrity fragrance sales. Luxe Brands, the maker of the singer's scents, revealed that by last year global revenues of the first three fragrances in the best-selling franchise had topped US$150 million.
The company predicts that Cloud will earn US$50 million within the first 12 months of launch. That's probably on the money for the flirty blend of creme de coconut, praline, vanilla orchid and musks. Cloud will debut in Ulta stores in the US on September 1 before rolling out in Europe in Douglas and Boots.
Macy's continues Bluemercury expansion to take on Sephora and Ulta
Department stores worldwide have been lifting their game to fend off competition from speciality beauty chains such as Sephora and Ulta. In 2015, Macy's, the largest US department store company by retail sales, bought Bluemercury for US$210 million. The luxury beauty retailer has enjoyed high double-digit sales growth since the buyout and has opened 100 new locations in the past three years – 25 in the first half of this year.
Macy's has announced that this fast-paced expansion will continue and Bluemercury will open 55 new locations in 2019 – 25 standalone stores and 30 within Macy's stores – to take its nationwide US network to 215. Investors are optimistic that the department store chain will maintain its fightback offensive against the specialist beauty chains and online competition and the value of Macy's shares has increased by 50 per cent from the beginning of the year. A bullish attitude backed by the strong performance of the prestige beauty category in the US which spiked 6 per cent in 2017 to US$17.7 billion.
European beauty and personal care market reaches US$90.7 billion
It's easy to forget that Europe still has the numbers with more than 500 million consumers. According to Cosmetics Europe, the trade association which represents 4,500 beauty and personal care companies continent-wide, beauty and personal care sales rose 1.3 per cent in 2017 to US$90.7 Billion. A market performance that kept Europe in the box seat as the world's largest market.
The US ranked second with revenues of US$78.56 billion, followed by China at US$50.27 billion, Japan at US$34.96 billion and Brazil at US$29.7 billion. The top five national markets in Europe are – Germany (US$15.98 billion), France (US$13.28 billion), the UK (US$13.04 billion), Italy (US$11.87 billion) and Spain (US$7.99 billion).
Skincare is the leading beauty category in the European beauty and personal care market with 2017 sales rising to US$23.74 billion - an increase of US$2.35 billion over 2016. Haircare is a strong number two at US$17.44 billion, followed by fragrances (US$14.02 billion) and makeup (US$13.13 billion).
France and Germany enjoy top billing as the two export powerhouses of the European cosmetic industry, with each shipping about US$11.75 billion a year overseas. According to Brand Finance, 22 of the world's largest cosmetic brands are European. A dominance that makes Europe a tough market for outsiders. In 2017, beauty and personal care imports to Europe totalled US$6.97 billion – mainly from the US, followed by Japan and South Korea.
Snippets from the wires
- Sephora doesn't rush into new markets, especially when the competition is fierce. The chain did not enter Germany until 2017 because of the dominance of Douglas in the prestige sector. The company opened a handful of stores in the UK from 1999 to 2005 but shuttered them because of powerful domestic players. Rumours swirled last week that Sephora is planning to launch in another tough market – South Korea – in the first quarter of 2019 in spite of the presence of local giants, AmorePacific and LG Household & Healthcare.
- More than 2400 fragrances were launched globally in 2017. The five major newbie blockbusters, says Euromonitor International, were – Chanel Gabrielle, Dior Miss Dior, Gucci Bloom and YSL Y – a men's fragrance. The five biggest national markets worldwide were – The US (US$8.1 billion), Brazil (US$7.2 billion), Germany (US$2.5 billion), France (US$2.5 billion) and the UK (US$2.3 billion)
- A few years ago, BB creams were the darling of the face makeup category. If you are wondering why the flood has slowed to a trickle, look no further than the US market. According to the NPD Group, sales of prestige BB creams in the 12 months to April 2018 declined 22 per cent over the same period a year earlier to US$14.1 million. Sales of CC creams fared a little better, slumping 4 per cent to US$21.3 million. By contrast, the US mass foundation market alone is worth US$1 billion.
