While the production of cosmetics has progressed by 0.8% to 9,355 million euros in 2014 in Italy, compared to 9,281 millions euros in 2013, according to Cosmetica Italia, the Italian home market continued to decrease by -1.4% in 2014 after -1.2% in 2013.

Once again, the Italian industry was driven by the growth of exports (+4.9% in 2014 reaching almost 3,335 million euros). “This was an affirmation of the high level of innovation of the formulas and service offered by Italian producers,” says Cosmetica Italia.

Purchasing habits of Italian consumers are changing, with the direct sales showing above average growth (+2.8%), continuing the positive trend of the last few years. Sales in herbalist stores also grew by 2.4% (to reach almost 420 million euros), and sales in pharmacies, which represent 18.9% of the total Italian market, grew by +1.1% reaching 1,776 million euros.

The restructuring of the channel and the transformation of the modes of selective distribution determined the drop in consumption at perfume shops (-2.5%) totalling 2,059 million euros. In 2014 the professional channels continued to shrink: while the beauty salons experienced a 3.6% drop, the hairdressing salons dropped by 3.5%.

Eventually sales in the mass market, which represent over 40% of the Italian consumption, remained substantially stable, with a value that reached almost 3,800 million euros in 2014.