Beauty industry grows 11%

The World Cup in Brazil was bad for the beauty industry in General, which recorded a drop in sales in May and June, run-up to the tournament. "What sold was just beer, picanha and coal," quips João Carlos Basilio, President of Associação Brasileira da Indústria de personal hygiene, perfumery and cosmetics (Abihpec). Despite the negative effect, industry revenues grew 11% in the first half, a real high of 5.5% as compared to the same period last year.
"Before the picture that presents itself, we can say that we're doing just fine," said the Association's President, João Carlos Basilio, to quote the falls presented recently by other industrial sectors such as the automotive and machinery. The slowdown in credit, factor that undermines the durable goods industry in a way benefits sectors like cosmetics, which has lower prices. About 2.5 thousand companies operate in Brazil, and the larger ones are Natura, Unilever, Apothecary, P&G, Avon and L'oreal.
The beauty industry rose 5.2% in investments this year, with $ 14.1 billion invested in brand, assets and research and development. Currently, several companies inaugurated or are building factories to support the sales volume continues to grow. Until April, the high was of 7% compared to the first quarter of 2013.
The second half is historically good for the industry, but should not make big change. The Abihpec estimates that revenues from the factories reach R $ 42.6 billion this year, with a high of 11.8% in 2013.
The sale of consumer products will exceed the $ 100 billion mark for the year, after reaching $ 91.6 billion in 2013. To protect their market shares, the industries are more aggressive. The demand for industry products is stimulated with increased investments in marketing, promotions and product launches, according to Basilio. "The market is full of promotions across all channels," he said. The strategy should result in loss of margin for companies. "It's part of the game. Is a very large market, in which 1% of ' market share ' represents r $ 1 billion, so it requires a lot of attention from all companies, "said the Executive.
The appreciation of the real in 2014 has brought relief to the sector's trade balance, which is in deficit since 2009, reaching $ 412 million last year. In the first half, imports in the sector fell 12 percent, while exports rose 1 percent.