The Italian cosmetics grew by +5.2% in 2010 to reached 8.589 million euros. Foreign markets boosted the industry’s sales as exports leapt up by 17%, while the domestic market (+1.3%) only had a marginal impact on the industry’s turnover.

Evolution of the Italian cosmetics industry

* Values in million euros (Source: Unipro)

The Italian trade surplus in this sector is estimated at 800 million euros in 2010. A detailed look at export figures by country of destinations confirms the dynamism of foreign markets: of all Italy’s top twenty customers, only sales to The Netherlands and Greece decreased in 2010. Germany is up by 38%, the United States by 29.7% and Russia by 22.6%.

Italian cosmetics industry exports (top 20 countries)

* Values in million euros (updated to October 2010 - Source: Unipro)

As far as the domestic market is concerned, professional channels (hairdressing and beauty salons) proved less resilient than traditional ones (perfumery shops, pharmacies, etc.) with growth rates of +0.8% and +1.4% respectively. According to Unipro, the Italian Association of Cosmetic Industries, “the drop-off in frequency of appointments at hairdressing and beauty salons, which have suffered the effects of the economic crisis that struck in the autumn of 2008 is still evident, although a revival is expected in 2011.

Italian cosmetics market by retail channels

* Consumption in million euros, retail prices including VAT (Source: Unipro)

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Italian Cosmetic Figures (March 2011)