The recession of the Italian personal care market continued in 2013 to EUR 9,500 million, a decline of 1.2% compared to 2012, according to recently released figures from Cosmetica Italia.
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According to the trade association, this recession, which remains modest compared to the crisis the country has been facing since 2007-2008, confirms the counter-cyclical nature of the sector. However, some channels are particularly sensitive to the economic context and suffer more than others. This is particularly the case of professional circuits: sales in hair salons have plummeted by -8.4% and sales in beauty parlours declined by -5.5%. In this context, only the direct sales channel (doorstep sales or mail order sales) pulls out of the game, with an increase of 4.4%. Sales also rose in pharmacies (+0.3%).
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In this context, the turnover of Italian companies rose by +2.6% to reach 9.3 billion euros in 2013, mainly boosted by sales in foreign markets, which reached 3.2 billion euros in 2013, increasing by +11%. On the contrary, imports increased by only +0.8%.
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“Continuous investment policies in innovation and development have enabled Italian companies to gain competitive advantage in international markets, where there is a significant increase in sales, including in volume, indicating a competitive and reliable offer," says Cosmetica Italia.
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As far as cosmetics are concerned, France remains the largest customer and the leading provider of Italy, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and Russia.