| | | Achilles' heel, market's strong point | | -June 17, 2003- | The Romanian consumers last year bought 7,000 litres of heel care cosmetics, nearly twice more than in 2001, when sales reached 4,000 litres, according to a survey by market research company ACNielsen Romania.
If looking at the value, the sales of this product category went up 43% from 2001, even though amounting to a mere $137,000. However, the higher interest in heels used up all the resources set aside for other body parts.
Hand care products saw only 119,000 litres in sales volume, down 14% from the previous year. At the same time, the body care products witnessed a decline in sales from 426,000 litres to 401,000 litres, according to ACNielsen data.
Why is this? There are a number of possible reasons. The general manager of The Body Shop Romania cosmetics retail chain, Dana Tudorache, says the growth in sales of products like those for heel care actually show the consumers are becoming more refined.
"The consumers are more and more educated, they want products to perform several functions - such as exfoliation and moisturising, moisturising and protection, washing, moisturising and brightness, and products to care for their body as a whole," Dana Tudorache feels.
"This is how we can explain the increasingly higher interest for heels, elbows and male skin care, areas less approached by the cosmetics industry in the past," Tudorache added, saying this trend was also visible in the behaviour of the Romanian consumer.
She specified the chain she was running had sold 14% more such products in the first five months this year compared with the same time in 2002.
Avon Romania representative, Catalina Pârcalabu in her turn feels the consumers have become more refined because of the constant broadening of the market.
"The 2000-2002 period was rich in launches of body concepts and products targeting this market segment. This process created a need for consumption, and educated the clients and made them loyal. Another explanation for the dynamics of this market segment throughout 2000-2002 was the application and promotion of the new manufacturing technologies worldwide, as well as the patenting of the new products with more performing formulas, which induced pressure of new product ranges on the market," Pârcalabu said.
The companies selling such products on the Romanian market include L'Oreal, Vichy, Oriflame, Galenic, Elancyl and Durcky.
The overall decline of the body care products market volume was of 7%. Still, the rise in prices kept the sales around $5 million.
Any further development of the market will be surely connected to the consumption resources of the population, targeted by more and more temptations. Any possible decline is explained by specialists through the deregulation of the consumer credit market, which uses some of the money set aside for other expenses. And they are speaking from experience, because many markets have seen drops in the first two months of the year compared with the same time in 2002, according to a survey of the market research institute, GfK Romania. The analysts back then said the decline was due to the people directing their money to loans, and to the winter, which required additional funds for upkeep expenses.
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