Sales of the European personal care sector have decreased by -0.8% in 2013 compared to the previous year. Total sales for the 28 member states of the European Union, plus Norway and Switzerland, reached EUR 72 billion in 2013. Sales in Spain and in Greece decreased by 3.6 per cent, and by -1.2 per cent in Italy. In France, sales of personal care products declined by -0.4%. On the other, the German market grew by +0.6 per cent.
Germany (EUR 12.896 billion), France (EUR 10.542 billion) and Italy (EUR 9.936 billion) remains the main EU markets for cosmetics (retail sales prices).
All the market categories declined within the EU in 2013, with fragrances recording the strongest fall (-2.3 per cent).
Simultaneously, extra EU exports increased strongly to reach EUR 16 billion for 2013 [1]. In total, the European market represented almost one third of the global market.
“2013 was a pivotal year for our association,” Cosmetics Europe Director-General Bertil Heerink said. “In a year of economic challenges, the European cosmetics and personal care industry remained economically stable.” Considering the value of the Euro, the strong level of exports was a good surprise for European leaders. “That made us convinced that the quality of European cosmetics is still very much in demand all over the world,” Mr Heerink told Premium Beauty News.
