According to a study published on Monday, October 5th, cosmetics sales have experienced a significant decline on the French market in the first half of 2020, because of the health crisis.

Results and forecasts of the cosmetics study

The Astérès firm’s study was carried out for the federation of beauty companies FEBEA. The result is that the cosmetics sector has seen its turnover drop by 10% in the first six months of 2020. However, as reported by the French press, if the sales of beauty products have fallen by 25%, those of hygiene products have doubled, because of the health crisis. As far as exports are concerned, the drop is 14% for cosmetic products, against 18% on the national average.

Then, the study forecasts that hygiene products could see a 30% increase against a 17% drop for beauty products. For cosmetics exports, they could experience a loss of 9%, which is less than global French exports (-17%).

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“A relative solidity”

Internationally, the rebound could be slower, especially in the countries most affected by COVID-19 (India, USA, Brazil…) with a return to the 2019 level expected in… 2023! The FEBEA warns that if the sector as a whole “is still characterised by a relative strength, the VSEs and SMEs in the cosmetics industry, which represent 85% of the sector, prove to be much more vulnerable”.

VSEs have thus “suffered a 54% drop in turnover, against 35% for large companies,” in the first half of 2020.