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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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