Italian C&T industry finds itself in the red

Italy’s C&T market is succumbing to economic pressures as consumers rein in spending. Lucy Copp reports on how manufacturers are working to turn around the country’s cosmetic fortunes

Last year for the first time in six years, the seemingly unshakable Italian C&T market began to crack. Widespread economic pressures finally took a toll on the Italian beauty industry in 2012, and as a result, consumers’ wallets were drawn even tighter. Official trade body Unipro revealed that the market value dropped by 1.8% to €9.63bn. To add salt to the wound, every single category and major retail channel registered a decline in value, aside from facial make-up and direct sales respectively.

Gian Andrea Positano, Director of the Unipro Statistical Centre, tells SPC: “Obviously the political and economic scenario in Italy, which is still uncertain, has negatively influenced this year’s results. As a matter of fact, Italian companies have been faced with slowdowns on the domestic market, balanced by opportunities of growth on international markets. However, the anti-cyclical trend of the Italian cosmetics system, which maintains its stability in terms of market and production even in periods of crisis, enables the sector to dampen the negative peaks.”