“Made in France” has been associated with quality and luxury for decades. And this is no exception for the cosmetics industry who represents a large amount of France’s exports. But what are the hard and fast facts supporting this claim? Why is France still conquering abroad market with the “Made in France” label?
“The French cosmetics industry is continuing its international reputation by combining the strengths of a high-quality image with those of innovation.” – Federation of Beauty Enterprises (FEBEA)
2016 was a record year for French exports of cosmetics, which for the first time passed the 12 billion euro mark. Thus, continuing the cosmetics industry (France’s second largest exporter, just behind the aeronautics sector) in its dynamic growth in exports with a current trade balance of 9.2 billion €.
The same is true for its international development:
The results of the latest FEBEA study, confirm France’s position as the world’s largest exporter of cosmetics. And this has been true for a few years now. Some observations show that exports have gone up in North America with a slight slowdown in Europe.
However, despite this slowdown, exports to Europe, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy all remain the top five countries to which France exports the most. This slowdown has been offset by growing exports to North America, up by + 8.5% for the United States, + 4.5% for Canada and + 4% for Mexico. There has been a good recovery also in Asia with a growth of about 10% who now accounts for 17% of exports of cosmetics worldwide.
But what about the rest of the world?
In emerging countries, exports are down. Exports to Latin America (-7.2%), non-EU Europe (-3.5%) and the Middle East (-5.9%) are on the decline.
FEBEA explains: “The declines in the Middle East are linked to an evolving and increasingly complex regulation, as well as to an economy in transition due to the fall in the prices of oil. This decline of the purchasing power of the Emirati or the Saudis has significant consequences on their consumption of luxury goods. ”
So which products are being best exported?
At the head, care and perfumes represent 3/4 of French exports. This trend reflects the richness and quality of the French offer, with top-of-the-range products always popular throughout the world. But not only in terms of product quality, the success of French cosmetics is also reflected in the sector’s innovation and investment in science and technology.
“The players in the sector are committed to creating personal and collective well-being, while caring for themselves and caring for the environment. They are building new Internet distribution strategies and bringing out new physical outlets. And companies are deploying the customised, connected and technological cosmetics market, opening a new era. ” concludes Patrick O’Quin, President of FEBEA.
These positive findings confirm the importance this industry brings to the French economy as well as what France’s exports brings to the world. Discover Lascom’s PLM solution dedicated to cosmetics .
