The pandemic before and now the geopolitical tensions and the supply chain crisis: the challenges for the cosmetics industry – as for many other sectors – seem to never end and the entrepreneurs who were preparing to breathe a sigh of relief after the health emergency they are again called upon to respond to changes and critical issues. However, the uncertainties of the scenario slow down, but do not slow down, the recovery forecasts for this year.
According to data from the Italian Cosmetics trade association, in 2021 the global turnover of the Italian cosmetics sector exceeded 11.8 billion euros, up 9.9% compared to 2020, driven by exports which reached a higher value to € 4.8 billion (+ 13.8%). The impact on the trade balance was positive, reaching pre-Covid levels with a value of almost 2.75 billion. The signals from the domestic market are also good, which exceeded 10.6 billion, with an increase of 8.8% compared to 2020.
For this year, the turnover of the beauty industry should grow by 2.7%, confirming the return to pre-crisis values and a further + 3.3% in 2023. While as regards foreign markets, estimates project a + 3% at the end of 2022 and an increase of 4.5% in 2023.
«The data demonstrate the inelastic nature of the sector, able to face the difficulties of the last two years – comments Renato Ancorotti, president of Cosmetica Italia -. Various elements of uncertainty affect the forecasts for 2022, from energy price increases to tensions linked to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, these gray areas do not seem to damage the prospects for recovery and growth: albeit at a slower pace, it is currently estimated that turnover will grow by 2.7% in 2022 with a return to pre-crisis values ». Precisely the increase in costs is the great issue of the moment on which an analysis by Cosmetica Italia has focused.
The impact of these increases for manufacturing companies is considerable: the increase in cosmetic raw materials and packaging is close to 18%, while the increase deriving from the transformation and production of cosmetics is just over 11 percentage points. Businesses with a commercial-distribution orientation, on the other hand, suffer the most from the increase in logistics costs, close to 10%. Finally, the extra energy cost, over 35 per cent, is transversal and very heavy.