Cosmetics sales no longer run smoothly, but remain on the rise

The cosmetics industry has become one of the sectors which have felt the decline in consumption in the last six months, but it is among the few which remain optimistic and announce rises for 2009, though not of over 10%, like in other years. The market, estimated at over 600 million euros, without considering local production meant for export, has seen a steady rise over the last few years, by rates ranging from 10 to 15%, but stores that sell cosmetics are no longer as crowded as in the past at present. “A slowdown is clearly felt, but it is premature to talk about the value of the market. Whilst in the past years 15% rises were to be expected, now we will see a 3 to 5% rise,” Viorel Ognean, general manager of Coty Cosmetics Romania, told ZF. Coty Cosmetics is one of the leading decorative cosmetics importers in Romania. The company posted a 12% rise in the first nine months of the fiscal year (July 2008 – April 2009) against the same time of the previous years, but for next year it has revised its budgets downwards.