Fragrances in Belgium

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Innovation and premiumisation are key growth drivers in 2019

Fragrances recorded solid growth overall in 2019, with sales of both women’s and men’s products driven by innovation and premiumisation during the year. Premium women’s fragrances saw a particularly positive performance, registering the strongest value growth in 2019.

Strong demand for premium fragrances

Premium women’s and men’s fragrances were the most dynamic categories in 2019 due to strong innovation, the glamourous image of premium fragrances and intense advertising. Mass fragrances posted slight growth in 2019 due to the strong competition from their premium counterparts.

Multinational players dominate fragrances in 2019

Multinational players, Paco Rabanne - Groupe Puig, Chanel and Parfums Christian Dior, remained the leaders of a rather fragmented category in 2019, due to strong marketing and advertisement and solid brand recognition. The most relevant and successful launches of 2019 included Idole from Lancôme Parfums Beauté and Cie (premium women’s fragrances) and Sauvage from Parfums Christian Dior (premium men’s fragrances).

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Sales of fragrances are now expected to decline by 3% in 2020 in 2019 constant value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 1% rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted at the end of 2019 before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within fragrances

Decline is expected across the board in 2019 constant value terms and volume terms in 2020 in fragrances due to COVID-19. Mass unisex fragrances is set to record the strongest decline as leading manufacturers do not focus on the category and leading beauty specialist retailers devote little space to the category so there is low product loyalty.

Recovery and opportunities

Sales of fragrances should recover in 2021 and improve during the course of the forecast period, although growth will be slower than that recorded over the review period in a time of economic uncertainty as fragrances are generally regarded as non-essential items. Price promotions are likely to become even more frequent for both premium and mass fragrances, particularly around key discount events such as Black Friday and gifting occasions such as Christmas and St Valentine’s Day.

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