Sep 1, 2009, 8:00 a.m. EST
NPD Reports on First Half U.S. Beauty Retail Industry
Few Bright Spots in a Tough First Half
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Sep 01, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, reports first half (January thru June) 2009 retail sales of U.S. prestige beauty* industry equaled $3.7 billion, an overall dollar decline of -7 percent versus first half 2008. June 2009 brought the 11th consecutive month of negative prestige beauty performance. Fragrance, makeup, and skincare contributed to the dollar decline. While sales struggled overall, there were some positives in each category.
U.S. Prestige Beauty Sales: 1st Half 2009
Dollars Percent Change 2009 vs. 2008
Total Beauty $3.7B -7%
Fragrance $1.0B -10%
Skincare $1.2B -6%
Makeup $1.5B -7%
Source: The NPD Group / BeautyTrends(R) 2009
Fragrance
Prestige fragrances in the U.S. posted the steepest loss in first half 2009, declining -10 percent in dollars versus first half 2008. Women’s and men’s prestige fragrances both posted 10 percent declines from a year ago.
New fragrance launch sales generated $57 million in first half 2009, but dropped -17 percent from the prior year, due to the decline in women’s new launch activity (-31%) when compared to the performance of 2008 launches. On the other hand, men’s new launch activity was up 23 percent.
In addition to the uptick in men’s launch volume, premium price fragrance juices** (prestige fragrances priced at $100 and above) rose 9 percent in dollars and 6 percent in units.
Fragrance juices priced just under the premium price point ($75 to $99) also posted an increase, up 2 percent in dollars and 1% in units. These two components of the prestige fragrance category in first half 2009 continue to capture share of the market and account for almost 30 percent of prestige fragrance sales.
Skincare
U.S. prestige skincare dollar sales declined -6 percent to $1.2 billion in first half 2009. Despite this being the worst first half for skincare in the past three years, the category had the softest losses of all beauty categories in terms of both dollars and units.
Set & Kits and Hair were the only segments to show positive dollar growth in first half 2009 with Set & Kits up 8 percent in dollars and 8 percent in units. Hair, although modest, had an increase of 1 percent in dollars and 4 percent in units. Face, Body, and Sun experienced a weak first half, down in both dollars and units.
And while overall new launch dollar volume declined by 4 percent (with help from a drop-off in new eye product sales) there was an increase in new facial moisturizer sales. This category, which accounted for almost one-fourth of new product sales in first half 2009, posted a dollar increase of 2 percent.
Makeup
Makeup sales in U.S. department stores during the first 6 months of 2009 were $1.5 billion, down -7 percent in dollars versus first half 2008. Overall segment performance was disappointing in the first six months of 2009. All segments (Face, Eye, Lip, Gift Sets, Other Color, and Nail) posted declines ranging from -3 percent to -20 percent. Perhaps even more disappointing was that 25 in 26 sub-segments in makeup (with the exception of Other Eye) also posted declines in the first half of the year.
Despite the enormous challenges in prestige makeup, new launch activity in a number of categories and premium price face and eye products posted healthy gains. While overall new launch makeup dollar volume dipped 7 percent, new makeup face product sales grew in both dollar and unit volume, led by double-digit increases (ranging from +11% to +59%) in foundation, blush, concealer, and other face. In the eye segment, new mascara sales posted an increase of 4 percent, and a positive note for the lip segment, new lip color sales rocketed up 47 percent.
Relatively small, but growing segments of the prestige makeup market are premium price face and eye products. Still niche in size, premium price face products (priced at $50 and above) have almost doubled in volume over the past four years and grew 5 percent in dollars and 2 percent in units in first half 2009.
“The results in first half 2009 are in many ways a continuation, and perhaps, an escalation of the trends we have been seeing since the start of the 2008 recessionary period,” said Karen Grant, vice president and global industry analyst, The NPD Group. “As consumers continue to hold tight onto their wallets, the criteria of what products they choose to spend on is increasingly driven by those that they find personally meaningful and worthy of investment. In this challenging retail environment, it can not be overstated how increasingly important it is for manufacturers and retailers to take careful note that there are items that are resonating well with consumers. They need to understand what those products are and see how they can potentially leverage that learning into winning with other beauty categories,” ended Grant.
*Prestige Beauty: products sold mainly in U.S. department stores. **Juices: excludes fragrance ancillary or gift set items.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
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SOURCE: The NPD Group, Inc
For More Information:
The NPD Group
Dora Brunette, 516-625-6190
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