Nichebox acquires Clive Christian Perfume; 15 per cent of Australians buy home hair colourants; BrandZ rates world's most valuable luxury brands; and French cosmetic industry reports annual sales of AUD$73.58 billion.
Nichebox acquires Clive Christian Perfume
Dino Pace, former director of Perfume Holding, the Italian company that owns Atkinsons perfumes and makes fragrances for La Perla and Ferrari, founded Nichebox in June 2018. Backed by private investors and a Swiss private equity fund, his goal is to build a portfolio of small to medium niche perfume and skincare brands.
The company made its first purchase, Liquides Imaginaires, in September last year. The eight year old brand was founded by designer Philippe Di Meo and fragrance distributor David Frossard and all of its products are created and made in France. The range includes 15 fragrances and five "trilogies" and the first flagship store in China opened in Beijing in late October.
Clive Christian Perfume, the very upscale British brand, is distributed in Australia by Agence de Parfum and has become a hot favourite with local media. Founded in 1999 on the template of The Crown Perfumery Company, the brand is sold in 300 outlets in 30 countries.
Nichebox has acquired Clive Christian Perfume as the second member of its stable to further springboard growth. "Niche perfumery is the fastest-growing segment on the market", said Dino Pace. "And this brand is among the leaders in the sector. We aim to develop a new platform for the brand and to invest in digital communication, as well as commercial initiatives to attract new customers".
15 per cent of Australians buy home hair colourants
Colouring hair at home remaIns popular, but the Australian market has declined 2 per cent over the past four years, says Roy Morgan Research. Approximately 15.4 per cent of Australians buy home hair colour in an average six months. The men's market is lucrative but small with 7.4 per cent of Australian men buying a hair colour product over the period. By contrast, women buy nearly 75 per cent of home hair colours with 23.2 per cent reaching for the box or tube in an average six month period.
Another stat that won't surprise anyone is that most home hair colour customers are Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. Close to 20 per cent of the Gen X demo aged 35 to 49 (19.9%) purchase home hair colour in the average six months - nearly one million customers representing 31 per cent of total market share. An equally significant 38 per cent of the hair colour market is comprised of consumers aged 50-plus - with 14.4 per cent of the demographic making a purchase.
Supermarkets dominate home hair colour sales with a 52 per cent market share. Chemists and pharmacies, led by Chemist Warehouse and Priceline, are the other major players with a 26 per cent market share. The remaining 22 per cent of sales are distributed between department stores, discount department stores and online retail channels.
BrandZ rates world's most valuable luxury brands
The global luxury industry has been aflutter over the past few weeks about the possibility of Chanel being put on the block. The whispers have been dismissed for the undeniable reason that the French powerhouse is worth so much that no one is big enough to buy it. Luxury is on such a roll, reports BrandZ, the world's largest brand equity database, that the overall brand value of the major players in its 2019 Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings added US$38 billion in brand value over the past year to US$171.3 billion - a jump of 29 per cent.
French brands dominate with six of the top 10 positions in luxury. Yves Saint Laurent enjoyed the fastest growth - 45 per cent - followed by Dior which spiked 29 per cent.
- Louis Vuitton - US$47.2 billion brand value
- Chanel - US$37 billion
- Hermes - US $31 billion
- Gucci - US$25.3 billion
- Rolex - US$8.4 billion
- Cartier - US$6 billion
- Burberry - US$4.7 billion
- Dior - US$4.7 Billion
- Saint Laurent/Yves Saint Laurent - US$3.6 billion
- Prada - US$3.5 billion
French cosmetic industry reports annual sales of AUD$73.58 billion
The lure of the label - Made in France - is as strong as ever. According to the FEBEA (French Federation of Beauty Companies), France remains the dominant player in the global cosmetics industry with a 23 per cent market share. Net sales of the entire industry have reached 45 billion euros (AUD$73.58 billion). Exports total 14 billion euros (AUD$22.89 billion) and grew at an annual rate of 5 per cent for the period 2010 to 2018.
Innovation is the key factor of France's continued success. The French cosmetics industry as a whole ploughs 2 per cent of the sector's turnover into R&D. The major multinationals, led by L'Oréal, allot between 3 and 3.5 per cent of their turnover to R&D.
French consulting firm, CH2 Conseil, says that "intangibles" such as a love of French culture, the heritage of many French brands and a decades-long commitment to excellence remain powerful market drivers to sales all over the world.
But the French aren't resting on their laurels, says the FEBEA. They are keeping an eagle eye on Asian countries with a strong cosmetic tradition such as Japan and South Korea. Also on their radar are: the revived Italian cosmetic industry, the flood of new indie brands worldwide, and Chinese brands strongly backed by the 10 year Made in China 2025 industrial development plan inaugurated by the Chinese government.
Snippets from the Wires
- The number of female entrepreneurs continues to boom. So much so that Forbes has expanded its 2019 list of America's Richest Self-Made Women to 80 - over 33 per cent more than last year. Ten beauty and cosmetic moguls made the cut. The top ranking went to Kathy Fields and Katie Rodan of Rodan + Fields (14th), followed by Anastasia Soare of Anastasia Beverly Hills (21st), Kylie Jenner (23rd), Huda Kattan (36th), Rihanna (37th), Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics (47th), Kim Kardashian West (57th), Karissa Bodnar of Thrive Causemetics (74th) and Toni Ko, founder of NYX Cosmetics (75th).
- The stats are in for China Expo 2019, held in Shanghai in late May. Dwarfing the figures of similar events around the world, the three day exhibition attracted 521,300 professional visitors, 3500 exhibitors and 10,000 brands from 40 regions and countries.
- International travellers are not only spending up big in duty-free stores and travel retail. Tax-free spending in department stores across the Asia/Pacific region - mainly Japan, Singapore and South Korea - has risen by 22 per cent, says Global Blue, the international tax refund specialist. Millennials accounted for 50 per cent of international travellers taking advantage of APAC department store tax-free spending. Chinese travellers led the pack and represented 76 per of the tax-free spend across the region.
